Kathak Aadi Kathak-
A documentary
Kathak Aadi-Kathak is a feature-length historical research documentary made by Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. It is based on Guru Roshan Datye’s research on the history of Kathak and the relationship between dance poses found on ancient temple walls to that of the Naatyashastra and dance poses performed in contemporary Kathak. The film was made through an Infosys Foundation fellowship grant and crowdfunding. It has received special recognition and funding from Smt. Sudha Murthy
Why was this Documentary made?
Kathak Aadi-Kathak attempts to ensure the 20 years of factual research done by Guru Roshan Datye is converted into an audio-visual format and reaches as many people as possible. It is a gateway and basic introduction to the vast research done by Roshan tai as explained in her books. Along with the history of Kathak, this film explores facets of Indian culture that are either blindly believed or rejected. It tries to give a youthful perspective to the ancient heritage of India, especially for the younger generations.
Inspiration
Dance is inherently an audio-visual medium and its stories are best told that way, so we decided to make a documentary on the research book by Guru Roshan Datye. As we were researching dance in the temples and stupas of North India, we found out that so much about Indian culture has been misunderstood and as a result, rejected thinking it is orthodox. Hence, we wished to trace back the roots of our culture and of the dance form. This film has given us the opportunity to spread awareness about the rich culture and heritage of India.
Inspiration
Dance is inherently an audio-visual medium and its stories are best told that way, so we decided to make a documentary on the research book by Guru Roshan Datye. As we were researching dance in the temples and stupas of North India, we found out that so much about Indian culture has been misunderstood and as a result, rejected thinking it is orthodox. Hence, we wished to trace back the roots of our culture and of the dance form. This film has given us the opportunity to spread awareness about the rich culture and heritage of India.
What is Kathak?
What was Ancient India?
Where do we belong in vast timeframe?
Watch the Documentary and learn the answers!!
Synopsis
Guru Roshan Datye (75), a Kathak dancer and scholar, grew up hearing Kathak does not have a rich tradition like other Indian classical dance forms and is only 400- 500 years old. She decided to uncover the truth about the history of this dance form. 20 years later, we revisit her research with her, Abha Auti (39) and Nidhi Kondejkar (18), the next two generations of dancers to trace back the similarity in the dance positions found in sculptures on ancient temple walls and dance positions seen in contemporary Kathak.
As they travel to the temples and stupas of North India, many preconceived notions they held about Indian culture are challenged. They explore the discrepancy between what stories the sculptures are trying to tell us about the past and what we have actually interpreted and are practicing today.