I want my work to resonate with audiences: Janani Murali

Janani Murali is thrilled about how her first bharatanatyam performance went at the Nishagandhi Dance Festival, in Thiruvananthapuram, on Tuesday. “From the response I got from the audiences, I feel they have also enjoyed it as much as I did,” she says.




Janani performed two pieces at Nishagandhi, both parts of a larger production called Mohanam Krishnamashraye. Sammohana Krishna is based on an arthanari temple idol of Radha and Krishna in Namakkalu and the second piece called Maya explores the journey of a gopika in realising that she and Krishna are not separate and that time and space are immaterial.




About experimenting with her craft, Janani says, “If we are composing a fresh piece, it's solely what we want to say. However, when we adapt it from what is already written and composed by someone, be it experimental or traditional, the key is understanding the essence of the work. When I present it on stage, even if it's puranic, I want it to be within the reality that we live in and resonate with people, like you and me. When I started experimenting and started the dance theatre, I was apprehensive that the senior gurus may have a problem with it. However, they have all been very encouraging. I feel that as long as we put in the work to make it meaningful, all performances will be accepted. It should be done with the right intentions."

Janani is keen on bridging the gap between audiences and the performance. “Dance is an easy language to understand if presented right. There are two ways to bridge this gap and I adapted the dance theatre format to make this happen. In a dance theatre, dance is supplemented by spoken word and I am speaking as I am dancing. The other is to choose relatable topics, to pick pieces based on the audience,” says Janani.

She adds, "Dance theatre has allowed me to experiment with costumes, makeup and ornaments. I recently did a performance at which I did not use any traditional Bharatanatyam jewellery and went for everyday silver jewellery. But when we experiment, we must be careful not to water the performance down."