‘His colour is like a crow’: In Kerala, outrage over Mohiniyattam performer’s remarks on fellow artiste

“His colour is that of a crow. A person who performs Mohiniyattam should be a mohini (enchanting one). One should be beautiful enough to perform Mohiniyattam. There are attractive men who perform it, but his looks are unbearable,” she said in the interview, referring to Ramakrishnan.

When reporters asked her later for clarification about the comments, she said, “I do not regret what I said. A performer of Mohiniyattam, be it man or woman, should be beautiful enough.” Claiming that she was not disparaging his skin colour, Satyabhama said, “Have dark-skinned persons not won beauty contests? Dark-skinned girls can perform Mohiniyattam. But if boys are performing, they should have a charming appeal. If dark-skinned students come to learn dance, they will be given training, but they will be told not to attend competitions,” she said.

Dr Ramakrishnan, who is the brother of the late Malayalam film actor Kalabhavan Mani, said the comments were an insult to Kerala’s cultural realm.

“This is not just an insult to me as an individual. She has insulted all dark-skinned aristes in the country. To say that only beautiful people should dance gives a wrong message to society. It is an insult to Kerala’s entire cultural world,” he said.

“I am a first-rank holder in MA Mohiniyattam from MG University. I am a top scorer in MPhil and completed a PhD from Kalamandalam (Kerala’s premier centre of learning for classical art forms). This is not the first time I have faced insults from her,” Dr Ramakrishnan added.

As support poured in for him from across civil society in Kerala, state government-run Kalamandalam, a Deemed University for Art and Culture, took strong exception to the comments made by its alumna Satyabhama.

In a release, Kalamandalam vice-chancellor Prof B Anandakrishnan said, “The institute summarily rejects her statements and her approaches. It is an insult to the institute that the name Kalamandalam has been prefixed with the name of such a person who makes comments which a civilised society can never acknowledge. She had been an alumna of the institute, but has no other affiliation with Kalamandalam.”

Kerala minister R Bindu and Veena George were among the political leaders to vocally back Ramakrishnan and also condemn Satyabhama’s comments.

“What he (Ramakrishnan) did was liberate the art form of feudal times from the shackles of outdated values. He is among the vanguard of contemporary reformers, freeing the great art form from adulterous connotations,” Bindu said. George said Satyabhama’s remarks against Ramakrishnan were an insult to Kerala society.

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, also condemned the comments. “Art is important, not colour. Art is the union of humility and compassion. Art and culture die when one is insulted on the basis of colour and caste,” he said.

The Congress also held a protest march in Thrissur district’s Chalakudy – Ramakrishnan’s hometown.

– With PTI inputs