Vanaja

I didn't realize I like Kuchipudi dancing until I saw the trailer for Vanaja. The film itself looked tortuous: yet another coming-of-age film, with the possibility of a dreaded Female Sexual Awakening subplot. But the dancing drew me in. I don't know where that came from; maybe some lingering aftereffects from seeing the old Sinbad movies or Lang's Tiger of Eschnapur.

The movie itself turned out to be quite good. The 'coming of age story' was very much in the background, with the main story being more of a class struggle: young ambitious low-caste Vanaja joins the household of a high-caste former dancer in the hopes of becoming a great dancer herself. The son of her employer returns from his years abroad shagging American chicks, enters local politics, rapes and impregnates Vanaja, and wonders why he doesn't feel content.

The film is poorly edited at times, but the cast is surprisingly good (generally speaking). As the movie progresses, the motivations of the characters become more complex, causing the story to unfold in a slightly less than straightforward manner. The rather headstrong (but not cocksure!) character of Vanaja is well-captured by the actress (Mamatha Bhukya), and of course the dancing scenes are a treat to watch.


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Vanaja (IMDB)

Wince : [**___]
Flinch : [*____]
Retch : [*____]
Gape : [*____]

Beerequisite : [*____]
Pornability : [*____]
Obscurity : [**___]
Explicability : [***__]

Scene I'd watch on endless loop: The "kiss me baby, love me baby" dance.