Delhi gets second acting school

NEW DELHI, November 6: Film dancer-actress Madhumati said that there is an urgent need to improve the standard of dancing in films which has...

NEW DELHI, November 6: Film dancer-actress Madhumati said that there is an urgent need to improve the standard of dancing in films which has 8220;degenerated to acrobatics8221;. The danseuse, a veteran of 1,100 films, was in the Capital on Thursday for the inauguration of the first course at the Delhi branch of her academy of acting, dancing and allied arts.

Madhumati said that a knowledge of classical and folk dances was necessary for attaining perfection in dance. She said she had made attempts at her level to improve the quality of dancing through the students in her dancing and acting academy in Mumbai.

Madhumati, the second Bollywood star to open an acting and dancing school in the Capital the first being Padmini Kolhapure, and her husband Manohar Deepak have been running the academy in Mumbai for about two decades. The academy in Delhi is being managed by Inderjeet Singh, a former student of the actress and grandson of the late Giani Zail Singh. Madhumati was emphatic that she will be taking all the classes personally and the Mumbai academy will remain closed during this period.

While cautioning against treating cinema as just a glamorous profession, Madhumati emphasised the need to learn Hindustani diction and dubbing in addition to other subjects taught at various institutions. Her husband, Manohar Deepak, who is credited with having introduced the Bhangra to Hindi films, will teach Urdu diction, she added. She said that the academy would conduct three-month courses, 8220;functioning as a finishing school and not like a factory churning out artists8221;. Aspirants should be able to show some talent before they are admitted, she added.

Five of the best students would also be taken to Mumbai for a month-long free intensive training. Inderjeet singh announced that two scholarships would be given to the most deserving students in each course. He regretted that family compulsions had forced him into politics despite having done a course in acting under Madhumati8217;s tutelage. Singh is the national president of the Giani Zail Singh Ekta Dal.

Deepak, the only dancer to get the title of Bhangra Guru from the Punjab government, had got his major breaks in Jagte Raho and Naya Daur. Madhumati has been in the film industry for almost 25 years and retired at the peak of her career about a decade ago. Known for her nimble footwork, she has trained artistes like Akshay Kumar, Tabbu, Amrita Singh, Farah, Chunkey Pandey, Kimi Katkar, Sonam, Baba Sehgal, Shagufta Ali and Shahbaz Khan.