Fanaa: Ranjha Revisted

Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan, Ludhiana
March 8, 2008

It was a rare treat for city art lovers as the renowned Bharatnatyam exponent Navtej Johar and Sufi singer Madan Gopal Singh wove a magical spell with Fana'a: Ranjha Revisted, a dance drama. It was brought to the city by Media Artists, known to have imbued new cultural meanings to the dry city.

The soul wrenching voices of Madan Gopal Singh and Rekha Raj and fluid dance movements of Navtej Johar and Anil Panchal were a treat, to savour long after it was over. The beautiful presentation defied categorization as it traversed boundaries of regions and art forms going beyond them eventually alternating between form and abstractness. The two divergent tales of Heer Ranjha from North India and Kutralakuravanji from South of Vindhyas seamlessly blended as the two male dancers combined elements of classical Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Chhau with modern choreographic compositions.

While the love legend of Heer Ranjha with its tragic mode provided the thematic base of the presentation the Tamil Nadu's dance drama form provided a counter-narrative. The intricate intertwining of the two stories gave the work the mysterious quality of poetry.

It was redefining moments as traditional concept of the male machismo was blown over by the dancing males with their graceful and sensuous movements. On other level it was a perfect blend of ascetic and erotic. The enthralled audience were taken on different planes by the combination of music and dance alternating between joy and sorrow at one moments and passion and spirituality at other.

Unfamiliarity with one or both of the stories was no hindrance as viewers could enjoy the performance through its tantalizing images.

The dance drama was conceptualized and choreographed by Navtej Johar. The sufi music was composed and rendered by Dr Madan Gopal Singh and Rekha Raj. Pritam Goshal on Sarod, Gurmeet on Tabla and Deepak Castellino on guitar accompanied.

(Times of India)