When a dancer puts his or her first step on stage, The biggest dread is to grab the attention of the spectators. The spectator may or may not pay attention to your costume or your makeup. But, your presence as a performer. I always believe that a dancer like Pt. Birju Maharaj has always grabbed viewer’s attention, only by his presentation and graceful gestures.
So, in this blog let us unravel the extraordinary dance journey of the internationally known kathak maestro Pt. Birju Maharaj ji, and highlight his iconic choreographies from a dancer’s perspective.
Early Life of Pt. Birju Maharaj
Hailing from extremely talented Kathak exponents, Panditji, Original name Brijmohan Misra, was born on 4th february 1938, in Lucknow. His father Pt. Acchan Maharaj and his uncles, Pt. Lacchu Maharaj and Pt. Shambhu Maharaj were renowned kathak exponents. At a very tender age of seven, Brijmohanji gained interest in rhythm and dance.
He believed every element in nature has some kind of lay(speed) and taal (rhythm). Whether it is sea waves travelling from the ocean hitting the shores or birds chirping. Every aspect of life, and or daily activities is filled with rhythm.
Pt. Birju Maharaj Ji’s Iconic Choreographies
We all have seen the gorgeous dancer actresses like Madhuri Dixit and Deepika Padukone in a graceful performance and created a benchmark by their outstanding performance. So, let us know the man behind this path breaking choreographies and his intricate and eye catching expressions.
Kahe Ched Mohe- Devdas
Madhuri Dixit has been a kathak dancer since her childhood, so I feel it was a cakewalk for her to grab all the tatkars and movements. However, the delicateness of a courtesan in the movie was shown so beautifully. Whenever an actress steps her first dancing foot on the floor, all eyes are glued on Madhuri Dixit. Music was by Ismail Darbar and Melodious voice was given by Kavita Krishnamurthy.
The maroon costume, the glittery set were synergists, to her performance. But the only thing you remember is the choreography of Panditji. In short Madhuri Mam gave hundred percent justice to the music.
And most of you guys don’t know the first male part of this song is sung by Panditji himself.
Mohe Rang do lal- Bajirao Mastani
Here, the costume, and sets were completely on backfoot. The performance mainly grabbed attention. The delicateness shown by Deepika Padukone and her sincere efforts were reflected in the performance. Her grace and simple yet sharp expressions made the audience fall in love with her. (Maybe Ranveer Singh too fell in love with her again!!)
Pt. Birju Maharaj Ji, completely showcased the narrator’s love for lord Krishna and highlighted his naughty nature. This song was sung by the modern nightingale Shreya Goshal.
For this song, Panditji received the Filmfare award for the best Choreography.
Unnai Kannadu naan- Vishwaroopam
We talked about female dancers in the previous two examples. Now let us take an example of male dancer. He is already an immensely talented artist and superb classical dancer. We all call him Kamal Hassan. I have grown watching his dances and his movies, And I’m a huge fan of his art. We can see a glimpse of his expressions and Panditji has choreographed so well in the dance that this carved a benchmark in classical songs in the film industries.
For this iconic masterpiece Pandit ji bagged The National Award for best Choreography.
These were only a few drops from the ocean. Panditji has choreographed a number of dance sequences in various films and in diverse languages.
Pandit Ji has received many prestigious awards like Padma Vibhushan, The Sangeet Natak Akademi award, Kalidas Sanman,Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar and many more.
Panditji has performed in a number of prestigious concerts and music festivals all over India and even overseas.
To sum up, Words are less but the emotions for such an exponent is infinite. Growing up dancers like me have always placed such exponents ahead of an idol. Watching them performing on stage was such a divine feeling. Panditji left us on 17th January 2022 due to a cardiac arrest.
Even if Panditji is no longer with us, his legendary performances and his golden teachings have carved in our hearts forever.
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