Dance is undeniably one of the finest art forms that modern world knows about. Chandralekha, one of the greatest exponents of dance India has ever seen took it to new levels of creativity and discovery before she passed away last year. ‘Sharira: Chandralekha’s explorations with dance’ is a first person account of how this talented woman conceptualises dance as a spiritual revelation rather than just an art form.
Technically speaking, this documentary directed by Ein Lal is a crude work shot impromptu at various occasions and compiled later. However, its highly effective content that is executed mainly through narratives of Chandralekha and demonstrations by her students makes it work.
Liberation of body through dance is the central theme of her work ‘Sharira’ that is demonstrated in this film. Body is always looked at as the valley of sins where all problems originate. Thanks to its innate connection with sexuality, body is wronged all the time. Chandralekha comes up with a masterpiece that throws these stereotypes into air and creates a new world of a free body along with a free soul that is not embarrassed by its sexuality. The moves are bold and graphical and borrow heavily from Yoga. Put together, those moves depict the rhythm of the body that drives people ahead.
Chandralekha asks some pertinent questions like “where does the body begin and end?” and “how do two dancers come together?” Her answers lie in her work Sharira that embodies freedom in every sense of the word.
