Azurie actress

Dances on the Footpath

Azurie

24 Friday MAY 2013

POSTED BY RICHARD S. IN UNCATEGORIZED

≈ 33 COMMENTS

This week, I have finally been discovering the first great item dancer of Hindi cinema. I have seen her and been aware of her before, but I didn’t fully know who she was. Butnow it’s all clicked into place.

I guess that discovery started with my discovery of the identity of the dancers in my favorite scene from Ratan (1944). A while back, there was a discussion here of people tryingto guess who the dancers were…

Everyone loved the male dancer, but no one seemed to realize at the time I posted this that he was the father in the Minoo/Mehmood clan, Mumtaz Ali. That fact showed up inYouTube comments, etc., pre6y quickly. There was also one comment on YouTube that named the female dancer as Azurie. Admi6edly, there have been disputes as to whetheror not the dancer in other scenes up on YouTube was really Azurie, but until someone tells me otherwise, I’ll take the word of that one comment that she was the dancer in “OJanewala Balemwa.” One reason I believe this is because I read elsewhere that Azurie was a major influence on the woman whom I originally mistook as the first great itemdancer; that is, Helen’s mentor, Cuckoo. This is mostly conjecture, but I think you can actually see that the dancer in “O Janewala Balemwa” was an influence on Cuckoo…

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Azurie | Dances on the Footpath http://roughinhere.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/azurie/

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Recently, I also saw a picture of Azurie that popped up on the Vintage Era page of Facebook. (And if that isn’t enough to intrigue someone, what is?)


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I also learned that Azurie was one of the great old female Jewish stars of Indian cinema that we’ve been talking a lot about lately. (So, what perfect timing it was to start learningabout her! And by the way, there is a very good list of Jewish Bollywood stars in a discussion at the Jews of India Forum.) In terms of national origins, her mother was Indianand her father was German. That information can be found in a decent post over at the Cineplot Encyclopedia. It was there that I learned, also, that she migrated to Pakistan.She did not do this in 1947, but in 1960, somewhat like Rehana (who migrated to Pakistan in 1956). According to Cineplot, her first film might have been one called Nadira (likethe name of another famous Jewish actress…), which was made in 1934. Her last film in India was Bahana, which was released in 1960, and she starred in other films inPakistan, such as Jhoomar, which actually has a release date of 1959. She died in Pakistan in 1998, at the age of 90 or 91.

So, Azurie was clearly around for quite a while, too. I hope this means I can dig up some more scenes with her in them, whether in films or elsewhere, and other info, too. Iwould like her to continue to be a subject in this blog. Welcome, Azurie!

thoughts on “Azurie”

dustedoff

May 24, 2013 at 5:43 am

Thank you for digging up her name, Richard! I loved her in O jaanewaale balamwa, and it’s good to know who she was. And yes, I’ll admit I hadn’t known – or had forgo6en– that her partner in that song was Mehmood’s father. We live and learn…

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thandapani

May 24, 2013 at 5:48 am

Oh I love Mumtaz Ali sightings, and to have him dance with this beautiful woman! I can’t wait to check out the songs.

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Anandaswarup Gadde

May 24, 2013 at 5:50 am

Vinayak Razdan had a short post about herh6p://8ate.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/azuri-first-of-dancing-sirens.html

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Anandaswarup Gadde

May 24, 2013 at 6:08 am

Richard,If you search under her actual name, there is much more information like thish6p://www.facebook.com/cpfacanada/posts/353899331375526

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May 25, 2013 at 3:46 am

You are welcome, Madhu, and, as I’ve said before in reference to other things :) , I am happy that you like that performance as much as I do! Ava, I hope you had a chanceto see that dance, too.

And meanwhile, Swarup, as I mentioned on FB, I was very impressed by the links that you came up with… You managed to come up with something very comprehensive inabout two minutes (so it seemed)… And as I was saying, I don’t know why all these other sites that I checked didn’t have any information on Azurie’s important time inPakistan since, as your second link tells us, she was a very important classical dancer there.

pacifist

May 25, 2013 at 10:26 pm

That ‘is’ a great find Richard. The song is beautiful and I’ve long loved it.I’m wondering if Azurie will suddenly poip up in some of the films Tom is dealing with. I hope so.

As for Mumtaz Ali. He dances quite well. Ava posted a song of his once, really a good one. I’m not posting it here so as not to derail the thread.Thanks for this discovery.

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Richard S.

May 25, 2013 at 10:53 pm

Thank you, Pacifist. I wonder if Azurie could be one of the “?”s in some of the old films that Tom has already dealt with. :)

Regarding Mumtaz Ali, I recall that he had a few good dances in Shenhai (1947), a film that I also know for the great music of C. Ramchandra and the appearance of anadorable young Rehana. (Also, this was noteworthy for a drag scene that I think Harvey mentioned: Mumtaz Ali and Dulari both dressed as the opposite sex.) One of myfavorite Mumtaz Ali songs is actually a later one in which he doesn’t dance, in Seema (1955).

Maybe I should do a Mumtaz Ali post sometime.

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Songs Of Yore

May 27, 2013 at 7:32 am

Richard,This is an exciting piece of information. O janewale balamwa has been my eternal favourite, and I was always curious to know about its dancers. While there is no doubtabout Auzurie, I have serious doubts about Mumtaz Ali being the male dancer. Let me give you my reasons.

My obvious doubt is because he has no resemblance to Mumtaz Ali. He is too thin and looks shorter than Mumtaz Ali. You must have seen a number of famous dance clipsof Mumtaz Ali. Let me link three:

1. Main to dilli se dulhan laya re from Jhoola (1941)

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2. Humre Raja ki aaj sagai hai from Jhoola again

3. Pehli hi mulaqaat mein…bach ke rahna ji from Shehnai (1947)This is the song in double drag scene mentioned in your comment.


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Ra+an came exactly in between the two movies. In all the three clips, Mumtaz Ali is clearly identifiable from his face with resemblance to Mehmood/Minoo Mumtaz. He ishealthy whereas the dancer in O janewale seems emaciated – make up would not have changed that much, and of a good height.

My second doubt arises because from the mid-30s Mumtaz Ali was quite a well known name as a Bombay Talkies fixture, and his name was mentioned in the credits.YouTube has the full film Ra+an (h6p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3LCmcoSQvE). The credits mention Auzurie (8th in the list of ten) – that is how her name has beenspelt. Surely Mumtaz Ali was a much bigger name and an important a6raction to deserve mention, but his name is not mentioned. I have searched many sources, nonemention his name as a dancer in this song. I think we need to research more before we conclusively identify him as Mumtaz Ali.

pacifist

May 27, 2013 at 10:17 pm

>I wonder if Azurie could be one of the “?”s in some of the old films that Tom has already dealt with. :)

LOL Richard. Actually I wrote in the future tense because as far as I know it’s ‘now’ that Tom has started on Pakistani films. Yes, he’s finished a couple of them, so yes, onecould speak of them in the manner of your quote. :-)

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minaiminai

June 2, 2013 at 2:48 am

I was so excited when I first saw this post Richard! Just ge6ing to replying now. I have a li6le file I’ve been maintaining on Azurie lately as I just discovered her recently.Thought to do a post someday on her but with my track record that would be in at least a couple years from now. :) Here’s some interesting information I came across abouther:

Films:This post at a “Karachiwali” blog claims “Some of her famous films as a dancer include Yaad (1942), Tasveer (1943), Ra6an (1944), and Shahjahan (1946).” This book says sheplayed a dancer in Naya Sansar and the BFI has her in the cast (1941), and this book says she was in the Dilip Kumar-Nargis starrer “Mela,” but I don’t know if she danced.

Publications:

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Madame Auzrie: An Album of the Dancing Queen“Memoirs of a Dancing Queen” article from 1978, seems difficult to find.

ArticlesThe online digitized newspaper archives of the national libraries of Singapore and Australia have quite a few articles on her (search both Auzurie and Azurie) that focus onher tours and dance style, and most contain low-quality pictures of her and sometimes her dance partners! Sources vary in how many films she starred in ranging from200-500!“The Girl the Indian Go Crazy About.”Auzurie to Dance Here (close-up headshot)Madame Auzurie and Troope in Good FormSingapore is Graveyard of the Stars (picture)Picture of Auzurie and partnerPicture<a href=ʺh6p://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/3664769ʺThe Art of the Camera (Picture)Visit of 18 Indian Ballet DancersDancing Troupe for Singapore (says troupe later going to US for a TV contract)

Also, this article about dance in Pakistan at Narthaki, mentions a bit about Azurie: h6p://www.narthaki.com/info/articles/art286.html

Last, you have to read this excerpt from “Mehmood: A Man of Many Moods” about how Azurie embarrased Mehmood on the set of Bahana. :D

OK, that’s all I got. :D

Richard S.

June 6, 2013 at 6:13 am

Wow, Minai, what a list! Sorry I have to be so slow at answering at the moment, but I will get back to all of this. By the way, I saw the Dilip Kumar-Nargis starrer Mela(1948), and it might get my vote as the most depressing film ever made. But it has some festive moments, including a festival dance scene, and, yes, she must be dancingthere (starting in this clip at about 3:30):

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And AK, thank you for all that evidence! You might be right, Although I am glad that we are right about Azurie. (BTW, I wouldn’t assume that the credits have the mostcorrect spelling, as so many credits I’ve seen have go6en names wrong.) Unfortunately, I will have to get back to your comment at a slightly later time too. (Maybe I will startto catch up this coming weekend…)

Anandaswarup Gadde

June 8, 2013 at 12:02 pm

Richard,Following up a link given by Minai, I came across this doctoral thesish6p://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/8km963X.pdfThere is some information on Azurie on pages 39 and 99-100. It seems that she is a serious dancer.

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Anandaswarup Gadde

June 13, 2013 at 9:27 am

Richard,The information about moving to Pakistan in 1960 may not be correct. Both the above dissertation and Sheema Kermani in h6p://www.narthaki.com/info/articles/art286.htmlSay that she moved in 1947. perhaps she came back to Bombay off and on to finish her roles in the pictures. Sheema Kermani is a dance teacher-activist who taughtBharatanatyam and odissi and still teaching in Pakistan.

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Songs Of Yore

June 14, 2013 at 1:56 am

Richard,I was waiting for your detailed comment. But I am aware you are very busy (but thankfully not too busy for some gorgeous dances of Padmini :).

The exact chronology of Azurie – whether she migrated in 1947 and came back to India to complete her film in 1960, or whether she migrated post-60 – I am sure you aregoing to crack soon. But meanwhile I have discovered something exciting which I wanted to share with you.

I got in touch with Mumtaz Ali’s grandson, Ajaz Ali (son of Minoo Mumtaz). He confirmed that the male dancer in O janewale balamwa is not Mumtaz Ali. He alsoidentified the male dancer – and that is the exciting part – as Shyam Kumar! This has to be the singer himself. But I think we should also look for corroboration. (I haveindicated in my conversations with Minoo Mumtaz how I came to have some acquaintance with them).

There is more to come. Around the time of your post, I read in Ashok Da Ranade’s ‘Hindi Film Songs: Music Beyond Boundaries’ that there was a famous drum dance in VShantaram’s Chandrasena (1935), in which Azurie was the lead dancer. Lo and behold, a regular at my blog, Mr Venkataraman, sent me this link of the said drum dance. Fora 1935 film, the video quality is superb. Pu6ing two and two together, the dancer on the central drum should be our Azurie! This is fantastic, even though we see her mostlyin silhoue6e. This leads us to another research topic – which is her first dance in films?

h6p://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1008vb_chandrasena-1935-marathi-v-shantaram-dance-number_creation#.UbnX6GDN4Xx

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Richard S.

June 14, 2013 at 2:47 am

Thank you for all the good information, AK! By the way, I did read your very interesting post about your visit with Ajaz Ali and Minoo Mumtaz. A while back, I actually

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fantasized about looking for Minoo Mumtaz, myself, during one of my stays with my sister in Ithaca, NY, not far from Niagara (either side). But for various reasons, I couldnot begin to follow through.

Anyway, it is excellent to have that information about the male dancer in “O Janewala Balamwa.” I will revise this post accordingly, possibly this weekend.

It is great to see that Azurie drum dance, too. By the way, that Dalymotion site belongs to Minai, who commented above; Kasuvandi is another of her noms de blog.

Regarding Azurie’s first film appearance, Cineplot speculates that it is a film called Nadira, which came out in 1934.

And yes, I have been very busy and tired lately… Actually moved to another town (Philadelphia) to work at a challenging and time-consuming job for at least a few months(if it lasts) in order to be6er survive for the time being. And it takes much less time and energy to post a few videos (whether here or on Facebook) than to write fullsentences in a blog :) , especially if you are a perfectionist when it comes to writing (and editing all writings), as I am (and as I think you must be to some extent too). So,anyway, I hope this response has been detailed enough for now. :)

Swarup, I also need to get back to you more, don’t I? I guess we can try to solve the puzzle re. when Azurie moved to Pakistan. I had thought it was not that easy for a filmstar, singer, or dancer who moved there during Partition to move back and forth. It took Noor Jehan over 30 years to come back to India, but, then she had her wholeidentity tied up with Pakistan and vice versa to a degree. Runa Laila managed to go back and forth a li6le, but a bit later (and anyway, she was from EastPakistan/Bangladesh).

But I am also going to have to look into that thesis – a lot of catching up to do!

Anandaswarup Gadde

June 14, 2013 at 4:00 am

Richard,Do not worry about ge6ing back to me. I took some interest because you were interested. I am happy reading that dissertation about Indu Mitha. I always wondered aboutall that routine stuff in Bharatanatyam and why people did not adopt it modern concerns. I am happy that Indu Mitha has done that and that Uday Shankar’s legacy liveson.About going back and forth between India and Pakistan, I read somewhere that it was easy until 1965 and several film personalities did that. I think that some playbacksingers and music directors were also part of those travels.Good luck with your job.Swarup

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gaddeswarup

June 14, 2013 at 5:32 am

Songs of Yore,Is it the same Shyam Kumar who acted in the film Dard 1947?

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gaddeswarup

June 14, 2013 at 10:07 am

Richard, about interactions between indian and Pakistani film industries, here is one story 9a bit gaudy, but Cineplot essentially gives the same story. This has additionalinformation about Vinod)h6p://creative.sulekha.com/ek-thi-ladki-there-existed-a-girl-love-story-of-meena-roop-shorey-true-one_461465_blogSheila Ramani acted in a Pakistani film in the fifties. Geeta Du6 and Talat sang in Pakistani films. I mthink one MD from India worked in Pakistani films for a fewyears.

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There must be many more cases. I think, it all chamged after the 65 war.and is ge6ing be6er again.I think it will difficult to find more about Azuri without access to some journals and books from Pakistan.

Songs Of Yores

June 14, 2013 at 1:45 pm

Gaddeswarupji,This Shyam Kumar is different from the actor-singer Shyam of Dillagi, who also acted in films like Bazaar (1949). While Shyam sang his own songs in some films, ShyamKumar was primarily a playback singer.

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MinaiMinai

June 30, 2013 at 10:35 pm

What exciting progress we are are making on Ms. Azurie! SongofYore, that’s a fantastic tidbit you dug up about the Chandrasena (1935) dancer being Azurie! I haddiscussed that dance in my post on dances in early Indian cinema, but I had no idea the dancer was Azurie. It’s really a fantastic dance especially for the time, and thesilhoue6e concept and costume is clearly inspired by the Prabhat Films logo.

Richard – I checked WorldCat.org for the “Madame Auzrie: an Album of a Dancing Queen” book and it says the University of Pennsylvania library has a copy (specificallyat the Van Pelt Library, 3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19104-6206)–seeing above that you said you are now located in Philadelphia, how close are you to this

library? :D :D :D :D I could also try to request the book through Interlibrary Loan through the College I work at…I’ve been ge6ing fairly rare books that way for a while,though I try to space out my requests. :)

There is a bunch of pictures at Life’s photo archive that look very much like Auzurie, especially compared to the poses and costumes she had in those Australian/Singaporearticles linked to above. Check it out:h6p://images.google.com/hosted/life/6a3f1604fe5c57c9.html (I swear I have seen this picture somewhere else online with names credited to it…)h6p://images.google.com/hosted/life/7e3f7ad06ce8ea15.htmlh6p://images.google.com/hosted/life/262db8727bdbcd3f.htmlh6p://images.google.com/hosted/life/adcf9e7c86f4c740.htmlh6p://images.google.com/hosted/life/b38aacad5da791b4.html (rather unfortunate undergarment color! ;D)h6p://images.google.com/hosted/life/93b15]a68685db.htmlh6p://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/4345a73d36fd1779_landing

Also, of interest to the topic of Jewish stars in Bollywood, look at this fabulous picture of Kamalesh/Kamlesh Kumari (mentioned at the Jews of India forum) and ShambhuMaharaj in Sunil Kothari’s book on Kathak. I’ve been meaning to find more information on her forever but haven’t had the chance. Thought this was a great opportunity topost that pic!

I’ve saved the best for last though. Here’s an excerpt of an interview with Kamala in the article “Paga Ghungroo Re” in Sruti magazine:Q. Did you learn Kathak completely?A. Oh yes. And I remember whatever I have learnt. I used to brush up my learning with Gopi-krishna’s help.Q. You have performed Kathak with him in a film. Am I right?A. Yes. I have danced also with Auzurie and Sadhana Bose.

So our Baby/Kumari Kamala danced with Auzurie and Sadhana Bose! I assume she meant in films…wow!

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June 30, 2013 at 11:12 pm

Just found this: A picture of Azuri at the Facebook page of the documentary “Shalom Bollywood” about Indian Jewish contributions to Indian cinema. Looks to have somerare photos, especially of Jewish actresses!

Richard S.

June 30, 2013 at 11:29 pm

Minai, thanks for all those links! I will have to spend some more time later to look at all of them.

Re. the Penn library, it is an easy walk from my current residence, under a mile. Unfortunately, though, as I understand it, you can’t take anything out of that library withoutan ID from Penn or a related school, or some kind of courtesy card. It’s been a long, long time since i went to the U. of Penn., so I am not going to have an ID, and I’m notsure how to get the courtesy card.

Regarding that picture of Azurie, yes, I saw it before and probably shared it. I have shared most of the pics from that page already. :) If you are doing things on Facebookanyway, why don’t you start a regular account rather than just doing your blog page?

Maybe you just haven’t go6en around to it… I didn’t have a Facebook account until close to 11 months ago, and I still wouldn’t have it if it weren’t started by someone elsefor me (who is no longer around there unfortunately – and I had a longer explanation about that, but I decided to delete it :) )… Anyway, I resisted the phenomenon for along time, but I’ve got to admit that Facebook has been a big advantage for exchanging pics, videos, and other information with at least half a dozen of my “Bolly blogging”friends as well people from entirely different circles (which sometimes strangely overlap with this one). Alas, it also probably led to my spending less time on this blog, butthe consequences weren’t as great as I thought they might be.

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Songs Of Yore

July 2, 2013 at 5:09 am

Gaddeswarupji,On Shyam and Shyam Kumar I had some discussion with Mr Arunkumar Deshmukh. Meanwhile I also happened to watch three movies which had Shyam Kumar – Dard,Dillagi and Dulari. In all these Shyam Kumar was in a negative role. To make it interesting, Dillagi also had Shyam in the lead role. Shyam was one of the major actors of histime, but his career was short-lived as he had a fatal fall from horse riding while shooting for Shabistan (1951).

Shyam Kumar on the other hand had a longer career, but mostly as a villain. He was also a playback singer. I am also advised by Arunji that the actor Shyam never sang, andall the songs ascribed to Shyam are actually by Shyam Kumar.

You may treat my previous comment corrected to this extent.

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MinaiMinai

July 3, 2013 at 2:46 am

Richard, You’re only a mile away from that library, what a coincidence! :) According to that library’s website, it’s only open to the public before 6 on weekdays. And that’sjust to visit and read–if you want to check stuff out, you’re right, you need a visitor card and it’s hundreds of dollars! Wow, the universities here and not nearly this stringentat all. So I suppose if you ever have time before 6 on a weekday, you could go there and jot down or type up interesting portions from the book. Tell your boss importantresearch about Azurie awaits!! lol ;D Glad to see you already knew about that great Facebook page. I do have a personal Facebook account, but I keep it strictly private…actually until I created my blog-page I rarely used FB and hated it! But I’ve come around. :) I was frustrated to find that I could not friend people with my “page” (andthere’s lots of things different about pages, although they do allow you to view detailed visitor statistics which is interesting). Live and learn. :)

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I found another blurb about Azurie in this book by spelling her name “Azoori,” and it mentions the Cuckoo connection you noted above:“It is not clear on whom the title of the first vamp of Hindi cinema should be conferred. It has often been said that Azoori and Kuldeep Kaur were dancing before Cuckoocame along in 1945, and that Cuckoo modelled herself on Azoori; but in terms of public memory, it is the student who outdid the master. Cuckoo is still a distant memory forfilm buffs; Kuldeep and Azoori are connoisseur’s curiosities. Helen eclipsed them all and established such a pinnacle of achievement that all the dancers and anti-heroineswho came afterwards would look like bad copies.”

I’ve never heard of Kuldeep before. Here’s an article about her with a picture. Another research topic! :)

Richard S.

July 3, 2013 at 3:03 am

Minai, unfortunately, now that you have told me this much, I am pre6y certain I am not going to be able to look at that book in the library for as long as I have this job. Butthe job is scheduled for only four months (until the beginning of October), and who knows if I or it will last even that long? And maybe I’ll be somewhere around here lateron (I’m not sure). The present residence actually goes only through August, so everything is uncertain. That’s my life in recent years (and I know I’m far from alone in thatregard)…

Anyway, thank you for informing me about yet another book. :) I guess that passage is pre6y accurate. I actually like Cuckoo more than Helen, but to some fans of classicBollywood, saying such a thing probably amounts to blasphemy! But I do like Helen, too. And Azurie, and Kuldeep Kaur. I remember Kuldeep Kaur best as the queen of thedacoits in Baiju Bawra. Meena Kumari was gorgeous in that film (and was on the road to becoming even more gorgeous a few years later), but Kuldeep was actually moreinteresting. But I think that was because of the characters they played… Anyway, Sadaat Hasan Manto also wrote some interesting stuff about Kuldeep in Stars from Another

Sky. I will have to look for quotes later (and am not sure I even took the book to Philly – left so may things in different places – but I’ll look for it…).

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gaddeswarup

July 3, 2013 at 8:50 am

Richard,I wonder whether you came across anather actor-dancer from early days Enakshi Rama Rao. Apparently, she wrote a book on dance and had a Ph.D.h6p://www.hindu.com/2000/03/07/stories/1307017c.htmh6ps://wiki.indiancine.ma/wiki/Mohan%20Dayaram%20Bhavnani

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Richard S.

July 4, 2013 at 3:49 pm

Swarup, no, I can’t say that I have heard of her. Is this another book to add to the list? I haven’t really been able to find any real books on the subject(s) so far, the kind that Icould carry on a bus or train or read before going to sleep. (I read about this stuff before going to sleep sometimes, but it’s with the laptop on a li6le table next to my bed anda trackball in my hand. Seems the only way nowadays… Especially right now, when I don’t have a printer within reach.)

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Anandaswarup Gadde

July 4, 2013 at 10:01 pm

I do not know. In some places, it is touted as the first comprehensive book about Indian dances. I looked at a bit since the name seemed a Telugu name.

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MinaiMinai

July 5, 2013 at 1:55 am

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Richard, No biggie if you can’t make it to the library. :) If you want, remind me later and I’ll see if I can get it through interlibrary loan.

Gaddeswarup, I have seen that book “The Dance in India”, and while I don’t recall specifics I remember finding it to be very much a product of the time period and similarto other titles around that era. I had no idea that it is considered to be the first comprehensive book about Indian dance! There are many other books about Indian dancebefore the 1960s,.but maybe Enakshi’s was really the first to cover all forms of dance in India including folk. Interesting, I will have to revisit it again! Richard, I found thebook “Indian Dance: The Ultimate Metaphor” very helpful in covering all the classical Indian dance forms in an understandable way. Quality really varies in this subject Ihave found, especially the further back in time you go when some forms weren’t even considered “classical” yet and factual inconsistencies were more common (and therewas much less critical analysis compared to the last 20 years or so).

How interesting that Enakshi Bhavni was an actress too and the lead in Shiraz (1928)! That used to be up on YT but looks like it’s gone now, darn it!

gaddeswarup

July 5, 2013 at 3:17 am

Minai, Eanakshi had a Ph. D. too, we are waiting for yours.

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gaddeswarup

July 5, 2013 at 3:47 am

Minai, The Hindu link I mentioned above said “THE EARLIEST author to write comprehensively on the different forms of Indian dance was Enakshi (Rama Rao) Bhavnaniwho, in 1965, published her book The Dance in India. This unique treatise deals with the origin and history, foundations and the art and science of dances in India –classical, folk and tribal. The numerous photographs reproduced in this book are of real archival value. The next eminent writer to deal with the subject is Kapila Vatsysyanwhose publication Indian Classical Dance is an equally illuminating work.” That is from where I got the impression. Enakshi seems to have wri6en scripts too for somedocumentaries made by her husband Bhavnani.Seems to be a multi-talented lady but we know very li6le about her. I found only one reference to her in Telugu newspapers.It seems Enakshi means some thing like ‘deer-eyed’.

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MinaiMinai

October 14, 2013 at 3:39 am

Just ran across a bunch of early Prabhat Films songs uploaded on YouTube recently, and found the credits for Chandrasena! h6p://youtu.be/T1RPGR3xlLA?t=52s At :54seconds–proof of Azurie’s participation in the dance. You can see her name at the bo6om, “Azuri,” credited for the “dance.” The whole playlist of song clips from the film ishere (including a be6er quality version of the Azuri dance). I have a post in the works about some more early film dances I found and am so excited more Prabhat Films clipsare available online! Toodles, ~Minai

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Richard S.

October 15, 2013 at 2:05 am

Good visual research, Minai :) – thank you for confirming this!

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