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 From
films to stage to ballets, Ayesha Jhulka keeps re-inventing herself
time and again. Her latest venture is a Kathak ballet Prakriti which
traces the dreams of a girl to be a dancer. It is a celebration
of a simple fact - that we all have a dream inside us that we cherish
and is possible to realise; all it takes is a purity of focus, a
pouring of heart and soul into making it come alive.
The central
character, Prakriti, is a child of nature. Brought up in the sylvan
surroundings of a nrityangan, Prakriti finds music and dance in
every sight and sound of nature and also within herself. Prakriti
dreams of being a dancer some day, but without any selfish aspirations.
She defies the guru who teaches the students at the nrityangan and
all she wants is to be his shishya. But then, it seems a lofty dream
for someone who is only a worker at thenrityangan. And the little
Prakriti soon becomes a silent spectator, watching dreams fade away,
or get taken over by the realities of life.
Ayesha Julka
made her mark in Hindi cinema with films like Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander,
Khiladi, Kurbaan, Dalal to name a few and soon established herself
as an actress of calibre. And after immense success of ‘Purush’
it’s now ‘Prakriti’ for Ayesha. Learning Kathak for
nearly 13 years, she had always dreamt of doing something based
on it. Her intial aspirations for ‘Prakriti’ was the hallowed
tradition of guru shishya parampara. It soon flowered into a format
that blended dance, music and dialogue. With a story that is simple
yet sensitively told, ‘Prakriti’ is a dance drama that
showcases Ayesha’s skills not only as an actress and a dancer,
but also as a writer and director. Ayesha is also doing films like
Baba Ramdev and Amma to be released soon.
‘Prakriti’
marks the beginning of the actresses’ deeper, more committed
venture into the theatre world. The highlight of the ballet is the
beautiful Kathak pieces composed by renowned kathak dancer Pandit
Birju Maharaj. Fabulous music by Ravindra Jain and Madhav Azgaonkar
together with spectacular sets speaks for the grandeur of the ballet.
 Produced
by Scenario, Prakriti is the company’s first theatre production.
“Theatre is a very exciting, raw and vibrant medium and proof
of the kind of bond it creates with the audience is that, against
all odds, theatre endures. But the main obstacles tht theatre faces
in India are lack of proper financing, organisation and marketing,”
says Chirag Pittie, executive director of Scenario.
Pandit Birju
Maharaj is an icon who really needs no introduction. His legendary
name has become synonymous with Kathak. Born in an illustrious family
of hereditary dancers, Pandit Birju Maharaj is the torch bearer
of the famous Kalka-Bindadin gharana of Lucknow.
To him goes
the credit for giving a new dimension to Kathak with several experimental
dance dramas that have exposed Kathak to a more contemporary and
wider audience, both in India and abroad. His bold and intellectual
compositions in traditional themes are brilliant, refreshing in
concept and entertaining. He has not only bedazzled audiences the
world over with his dance performances and workshops, but is also
acclaimed as an inspiring Guru - having groomed a galaxy of young
kathak dancers in India and abroad. But his humility and grace is
such, he still considers himself a student. In his view, a real
artiste does not aspire to greatness, but just to learn his art
even better.
Besides being
a superb dancer, he is also gifted with a number of other talents
which greatly enhance his artistic career. And it’s a singular
honour that he is associated with ‘Prakriti’, having composed
many of the beautiful Kathak pieces that are the highlights of this
dance drama.
poet, lyricist, singer and composer, Ravindra Jain has numerous
hit film songs to his credit. He has given some of the most beautiful
music compositions to the film and theatre industry. A firm believer
of gurubhakti, for ‘Prakriti’, he has composed Mere Angane
Mein Aaja.
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