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PHOTOS : R. RAVINDRAN

BEYOND THE SPOTLIGHT Malavika Sarukkai

The outer world of Malavika Sarukkai is all about adulation and accomplishment. But what’s it like when the applause dies down, the make-up is removed and the costume is hung up in the closet? The dancer does not settle easily into a freewheeling chat on life beyond dance. After all, for more than 25 years it’s been just dance and more dance for her.

But a few minutes into the conversation, like her dance that appeals at various levels, the many layers of Malavika’s persona unfold. Selective on the professional front (“I can never sell out”); withdrawn (“I am not a party-talker and prefer to be in my intimate circle of friends”); a teacher who dreams for her students (“If they are serious, I am there to inspire”); cinema buff (“No masala movies though I simply loved Hrithik in Jodhaa Akbar”); honesty (“The money I get doesn’t compensate my hard work”); confession (“I have been so focussed on my art that I have missed out on many things”).

“I may not be seen (off stage) or heard often. But to talk, to reach out, is important to me. Talking not just about dance but about what we are missing in life,” says Malavika. Even as you try to imagine a Malavika-of-many-words, she adds, “If you are an artiste you start thinking differently after a point. You empathise better. Unless you empathise, you cannot create. Artiste or engineer, without an aesthetic eye …life’s romance will be lost. You cannot talk constantly about managing time, finance and multiple goals. Stop sometimes to notice that flowering tree near your house.”

Looking back on her early years, she says, “I had to leave out many things as I was focussing on one. If I can relive my life, I will definitely change some portions of it. I have no idols. But loved watching Balamma (Bala Saraswati) and Sanjukta Panigrahi (Odissi dancer) perform.” After a pause, she continues, “I have reached a different stage and many thoughts cross my mind now. Maybe I want to write a book, do dance theatre, group choreograph, teach dance, make friends, go on holidays, explore places, attend film festivals…”

Malavika finds cinema a fascinating medium. “Because it is also about living, people, confusion, searching for that something else and relationships. Dance leads one to analyse emotions extensively. We portray ‘sringara rasa’ through Radha-Krishna stories, which is about unconditional love. Over the years, I have researched the fine layers and colours of this love. The moment you say man-woman, compromises, likes and dislikes often overshadow the feeling.”

Other than sensuality and beauty, Malavika feels that in a relationship there has to be respect, sharing and granting of space to each other. Personally, at this moment, she cherishes the bond of friendship. She wants to take time out to discover herself and meet close friends more often. “I prefer small groups to noisy parties. I am not a crowd person. I have done enough of it once-upon-a-time in Delhi. It’s exhausting. Imagine holding the plate, eating and making conversation while twenty others also talk simultaneously.”

Though Malavika criss-crosses the globe, she remains rooted in India, specifically Chennai. “My life would have been wasted had I lived elsewhere. My cultural moorings are in this city. If I were in Delhi, I would have been well-connected to the powers that be and earned a lot. I do need the money. In fact, I think artistes need to be paid better. Yet I am clear about my choices. Serious artistes are fuelled by their own faith. There are several insecurities about the present and the future, yet you give all to the art for the sake of your passion and those rasikas who come up to you and tell you how much they were moved by your performance,” says Malavika with a disarming smile.

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