She dances to her own tune
Aditi Tandon

Nandita Puri — Photo Pankaj Sharma

Acting has never been Nandita Puri’s first love. She took to it out of need.

Years ago, when she bagged her first role in the much-acclaimed serial Campus, Nandita realised that television could bring in good money — something she desperately needed as a struggling classical dancer in Mumbai. As her financial position eased, Nandita found enough time for kathak, her first and only love.

It was dance that brought Nandita closer to acting. Relaxing in her mother’s Sector 16 home in Chandigarh, she recalls, “As a disciple of Guru Roshan Kumari in Mumbai, I got many opportunities to perform kathak. During this period, I was approached by Vinay Dhumale, the director of Upanyaas. He wanted me to choreograph a mujra. Later, he also offered me the role of a courtesan’s sister.”

Strangely, Nandita distanced herself from acting after Upanyaas. She explains, “The problem was that I began being typecast. After Upanyaas everyone wanted me to play a vishkanya. That was not acceptable to me and I stopped playing a dancer on television. I remained aloof from the medium until Campus happened.”

Nandita made an impact as Kiran Joshi in Campus. Even this role came to her thanks to kathak. She says, “While I was learning kathak, my guru told me to audition for a serial. Campus was being directed by the brother of one of her disciples. That’s how I was recast in a fresh mould.”

As of now, Nandita is much sought after for the mother’s role in family soaps. She has been cast in soaps like Ashirwaad, Sarhadein, Milan, Karz, Kalash and now Sanjivani. Not just that, Nandita also has the big screen beckoning her. She will shortly play Priyanshu’s mother in the Bipasha Basu-John Abraham-starrer Mumkin.

With money flowing in, Nandita now finds time to do choreography and also frequent the concert circuit. She proved herself as a choreographer in Shyam Benegal’s Sardari Begum. She recalls, “Shyamji wanted my guru to choreograph a kathak piece for his film. But since my guru was busy, I was asked to step in. I got a chance to justify the long years of kathak training. It was difficult to get Smriti to express bhavas during the choreography of Chahe maar dalo raja and the scenes were severely edited. But what appeared on the screen finally was rather marvellous.”

Nandita is also concentrating on a ballet which will delineate the role of thumris in classical dance. “Thumris adapt beautifully to dance. My new choreography will be based on the poetic interpretation of thumris,” she says. Recently, she directed an audio-visual piece on the life of the legendary Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of the Patiala Gharana. With the help of her mother Primila Puri, a Patiala Gharana vocalist, Nandita roped in the grandsons of the Ustad. While she danced to his compositions, his grandsons talked about the inspirations behind the Ustad’s bandishes like Kya karoon sajni aaye naa balam.

The show was well-received in Mumbai. Nandita now plans to bring it to Punjab, especially Patiala, which has a special association with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

On the personal front, she would like to play the role of a married woman but has not so far found the man who’ll respect her independence and her work, especially dance. “Men are not really liberated. Most men want you to give up dance for the sake of marriage. I don’t mind giving up acting but I cannot leave dance, never,” she adds.

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