Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Classical art form in a banal world

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a changing world, classical art forms must struggle to remain alive.

Cut off from the societal context in which they took birth and flourished, such art forms stay alive and retain their purity only because of the dedication and sacrifice of a few practitioners. The story of Mohaniyattom, Kerala’s very own art form, is no different.

Worse, many of these art forms still remain to be documented with sensitivity. Acclaimed film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan brings cheer to all those who love Mohiniyattom with a documentary titled The Dance of Enchantress.

Premiered at the Locarno Film Festival last week, the documentary is the product of long years of association between Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Brigitte Chataignier, who has been in Kerala since 1987 studying Mohiniyattom and doing research in it. It is no documentary of the ordinary kind with commentary keeping pace with the visuals.

The film has a very slender story thread linking it from start to finish, one that subtly contrasts the beauty and grace of Mohiniyattom with the banality of the new world in which it has to survive.

Adoor has taken care not to add any technical embellishment to the Mohiniyattom experience.

His camera is positioned mostly at the eye level, mostly static, capturing each performance as any person watching a Mohiniyattom performance in its natural setting will see it.

There is the natural play of light and shade as M. J. Radhakrishnan’s camera captures the dancers, performing all the major items in the Mohiniyattom repertoire, move gracefully to the lyrics penned by such greats as Swati Thirunal, under whose patronage the art form flourished, and Irayimman Thampi.

The film is also a tribute to Mohiniyattom gurus, the shift from the aspiring dancers to the master practitioners done with exquisite directorial charm and editorial skill.

The contrast between the cultural richness of Mohiniyattom and the banal in modern life that Adoor shows is subtle, though there are patches where they turn a little jarring, as, perhaps, reality cannot but be. Mohiniyattom is the dance of the enchantress Mohini and it is all about physical love.

Adoor uses this to deftly juxtapose the sublime and carnal in love in ‘Mohiniyattom’ and in the world out there.

The Phalke Award winning film-maker was modest as he introduced the film at its premiere at Kalabhavan here on Thursday under the auspices of Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum. “I have tried to document Mohiniyattom taking care not to cause boredom to the viewers with commentary and all that,” he said. Clearly, an understatement.

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