'Vanaja' dances through tough topics

Class conflicts, teen pregnancy, alcoholism and folk dancing among themes in coming-of-age film

By Adam Goldstein, AsiaXpress.com

Nov. 30, 2007

Blending themes as diverse as class conflicts, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, poverty and folk dancing is no easy matter.

“Vanaja,” the debut film from writer and director Rajnesh Domalpalli, attempts to unite such far-flung issues in a single narrative framework, and manages to hit its mark the majority of the time. The film, which maps the struggles and hurdles of one teenage girl in rural India, pits the well-worn, constrictive paths of cultural tradition against the boundless, iconoclastic aspirations of youth. It traces the resulting fireworks through the unlikely metaphor of folk dance, with surprisingly effective results.

It’s an ambitious narrative goal, one that lends for occasional lapses in continuity. Despite the sometimes overwhelming scope of the film’s issues, Domalpalli manages to achieve a fairly fluid effect, mainly through the film’s cohesive narrative structure and the strength of the Mamatha Bhukya, who plays the title character Vanaja.

The film begins with scenes culled from an Indian folk dancing performance, a combination of imagery and sound that serves as the drama’s uniting leitmotif. As Vanaja, the 14-year old daughter of a low caste fisherman, watches with wonder from the crowd, the course of the drama seems deceptively simple. The young Vanaja approaches the dancer after the performance, who reads the young girl’s palm and predicts a future status as an accomplished dancer.

When Vanaja is hired as a laborer at the estate of a high-caste, wealthy landlady named Rama Devi, played by Urmila Dammannagari, her dancing prospects seems temporarily subdued. However, when Vanaja learns that Devi is an accomplished dancer and musician in her own right, the girl’s aspirations are fueled anew. Vanaja becomes fixated on instruction; after employing all of her wile and cunning, the elderly matron finally agrees to teach her the art of traditional dancing.

At this point, the film diverges sharply from any Western narrative motif. Though the wizened instructor takes the brash and headstrong pupil under her wing, the end result is not a happy ending after success in a big competition.

Instead, Vanaja’s newfound dancing skills serve as a means of therapy, a physical rite to help relieve the stress and the tribulations that follow her instruction. When Rama Devi’s son, Rama Shekar (played by Karan Singh), returns to the estate from a prolonged trip in the U.S., the storyline veers off in an entirely different direction.

Despite Vanaja’s youth (she is only 15 when Shekar arrives), Rama Shekar quickly develops an unwavering and predatory obsession with the girl. Despite the fact that they are from separate castes, despite the fact that he is running for office in local elections, Shekar pursues Vanaja. When he is initially rebuffed, he follows up with force. Vanaja, unable to stem his advances, soon finds herself pregnant.

What follows is a convoluted dramatic progression that melds questions of societal norms, parental duties and class conflict. When Vanaja decides to keep the child, Rama Shekar and Rama Devi are forced to resolve questions of caste with questions of family. Vanaja struggles to find direction and to pursue her passion for dancing, in spite of the sudden arrival of adult responsibilities.

Despite the sheer density of thematic material, Domalpalli manages to retain the main focus of the film through the strength of his characters. As Vanaja, Mamatha Bhukya displays an impressive amount of precociousness and vulnerability in her performance, an unlikely mix that keeps her character believable despite the overwhelming circumstances.

What’s more, cinematographer Milton Kam paints an engaging visual canvas in the scenes of rural India. The film beautifully captures the expansive landscapes and the rich interiors of the area, a regular feature that helps offset the manic nature of the plot.

Finally, the dance scenes boast their own unique quality of simplicity and serenity. Dance director Srinivas Devarakonda elicits the subtleties and complexities of traditional Indian dancing in the film’s choreography, an accomplishment that easily crosses the barriers of culture.

Amid the turgid and thick plot elements, Vanaja’s dances stand as visual islands of peace, tranquility and composure. The stunning simplicity of such moments in the film makes up for the overwhelming nature of others.

Adam Goldstein is a staff reporter for AsiaXpress.com. Adam can be reached via e-mail.