'Art for devadasis was life'

The devadasis (temple dancers) of India have had to endure all sorts of negative representations and Sharada Ramanathan makes her debut as a filmmaker with Sringaram (translated as Dance of Love and premiering at this year's Dubai International Film Festival), and attempts to portray them as feminists in their own right.

Though the devadasis were considered elevated within the cultural sphere they were not given the same respect within the social space.

"It was a dichotomous existence," Ramanathan told Tabloid ahead of the film's world premiere at the festival.

However, she?s not trying to set any record straight.

"There are viewpoints," she says of the opinion that the devadasi tradition was comparable to prostitution, "but I don't treat that as a legitimate point of view."

Making a commercial film about a cultural tradition in a country that is largely known for its over the top melodramatic films that are made in Bollywood was definitely going to be tough.

However, the director's background in media and culture and her conviction ensured that she put together a strong team of technicians that was essential to Sringaram's making.

"I just told these people (cinematographer Madhu Ambat, art director Thota Tharani, choreographer Saroj Khan and editor Sreekar Prasad) that if they didn't agree to work I couldn?t make the film," she said.

Treating the film right

However, the biggest coup was in getting a classical musician, violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman, who is often referred to as the Pandit Ravishankar of south Indian classical music, to compose the score for her film.

"I don't think he's done an entire film. I know he?s helped out, but believe me he took three hearings of the script before he agreed and that was the biggest achievement," she said.

Ramanathan believes that the Indian cinema scene has changed drastically with a slightly more positive attitude towards art cinema.

"It really depends on how the film is made. There was a film made on classical music 25 years ago, Shankarabharanam, and that was a huge commercial hit. It's just a matter of treating the film in the right way, having a strong script with a good cast and knowing exactly what you want," she says hoping to bring in a new energy to classicism.

Comparing the devadasis to the geishas of Japan, Ramanathan relied on "considerable textual matter" and meetings with who she says are three of the last living devadasis in Tamil Nadu.

"One of them was 101 at the time, but she sadly passed away before the film was completed and one of them who watched the film just wept as she could identify what her ancestors went through," she says, adding that it was the point at which she felt vindicated.

The devadasi tradition in Tamil Nadu had survived for centuries since the time of the 10th century and Ramanathan believes that the main reason for this was their position as the main repositories of the traditional arts, particularly music and dance.

"Art for them was life and the aesthetics of their time were determined by these women," she said.

Spiritual and spatial quality

Initially the devadasis were credited with bringing a spiritual and spatial quality to temple life that went beyond religiosity and even had the right to be a part of rituals.

However, with the abolishing of the devadasi tradition because of its supposed degradation, the arts were separated from the devadasis.

Sringaram is essentially a story of Madhura and her contemporary Kama, who are both exploring the arts and searching for liberation and spiritual growth.

In their quest they challenge social mores using their art as a weapon, but look at bringing out the significance of art and its importance in finding inner freedom and peace as opposed to a tool of reaction and violence.

The main female lead Aditi Rao Hydari opted to debut with this film and Ramanathan was insistent that the leads have a background in classical dance.

"It's essential to internalise. I needed my actors to just feel their roles so the style was difficult to establish as I wanted the film to avoid looking virginal or like a synthetic historical film from Bollywood," she said.

With positive feedback from distributors, Ramanathan is looking forward to releasing the film in India in early January, however her current thoughts are with the world's reaction to Sringaram when it?s screened in Dubai.

On the world premiere at DIFF, she is elated about visiting and screening Sringaram, adding that she hoped that it would reach out to audiences beyond the Tamil-speaking people.

"The festival is about bridging cultures and it's a beautiful theme. Art is one such medium that can be used to bridge cultures and I truly hope that Sringaram is viewed by a cross-cultural audience, as I believe that the message, intent and aesthetic as come through."