Vande Mātaram: A Dance Tribute [Pre-Feature Short]
‘Vande Mātaram: A Dance Tribute’ is an exploration of the beauty of Indian classical dance forms performed by girls aged nine to sixteen. Shot in the ancient palaces of Rajasthan and thousand-year-old temples of Khajuraho in India, the film is set to a fresh and original rendition of ‘Vande Mātaram’ – India’s national song – rendered in Raag Desh. The ‘river-like’ flow of the music was especially composed and arranged to suit the intricate nature of Indian Classical Dance.
Director
Swapna Maini is a Film-maker, Visual Artist, and an Art Educator based in New Delhi, India. Her art and films are inspired by rich symbolism and insight derived from spiritual, cultural and social themes that are often the subject of her extensive research.
Swapna’s films are unique art projects that blend powerful social messages on subjects like women’s empowerment, with the aesthetics and beauty of India’s classical arts. At times, Swapna produces these films as a collaborative project with the students of her art studio in Gurugram, India. She often leads her students in art projects outside the four walls of her studio, working with paint, photography, film and the classical arts to evoke potent social themes.
Swapna and her partner, Sai Ganesh Nagpal are young artists who have devoted their professional lives towards the creation and sharing of visual and performance art that resonates with the aesthetics and grace of India’s artistic traditions.
Swapna’s work with young Indian children made her aware of their shifting preferences of art and performing art influenced by the westernisation of India’s urban centres. She felt that many of them were hesitant to talk about their background in Indian classical dance. As a classical dancer herself, Swapna was inspired to encourage her students, especially teenage girls, to understand and enjoy the beauty of their heritage. It was this thought that led her to conceptualise the film, ‘Vande Mātaram: A Dance Tribute’.
In her film, Swapna cast many of her own students who were trained in different forms of Indian classical dance. Against the backdrop of sacred, ancient temple sites, the film unravels the powerful beauty of the dance form.