Shobana: ‘Mohanlal was a pretty good dancer’

An interview with Shobana can feel a bit like a tennis match between unequals. She will shoot your questions right back at you and deliver a zinger or two while you try to keep up, fully aware that you simply cannot afford to drop the ball.

But such unpredictability can also lead to interesting revelations – for instance, we learn that the actor-danseuse-teacher, who is notoriously private, loves Instagram. “It’s so interesting and exciting,” she says, during our phone interview.

She is, however, quick to add that her page has less to do with her personal life and more to do with sharing ‘bits of information’ about dance as that’s what her 913k followers seem to prefer.

Dance is also what brings her back to Dubai. On October 22, Shobana will perform a dance programme titled Lotus Feet at The Theatre, Mall of the Emirates. The performance, which is also her first one abroad since Covid-19, has been choreographed by Shobana herself and is expected to be a mix of various dance styles like classical dance and Indian folk dance.

“Lotus Feet and most Indian traditional dance performances are based on Indian mythology and history,” she explains. Indian traditional dance, she continues, was always meant to be an ‘entertaining art’ but over the years, especially with the rise of other avenues of entertainment like movies, it’s no longer thought of as entertaining – something which she hopes to fix through her dance shows.

“But being an entertaining art does not mean that it should lose its sacred and sensuous quality,” she points out. “So Lotus Feet is based on all the four principles of what traditional dance is – which is entertainment, sacredness, sensuality, and now, updated with modernity.”

Her body of work includes well-received productions like Krishna and Maya Ravan which had actors like Surya, Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah doing the voiceovers.

As a teacher and choreographer, she tries to bring out individual dancers’ abilities even when they perform in groups. “I’ve never been a fan of synchronizing because, to me, it brings about a very Western, ballet-ish kind of a visual which we can’t do, right, because every dancer is different… If it’s a group, yeah, it (synchronizing) can be a little more comforting to the eye. So that’s why I don’t think people should dance in groups forever and they should do a lot of solos.”

A star is born

Shobana, who is also the niece of the legendary Travancore sisters Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini, made her debut as a leading lady in the Malayalam movie April 18 in 1984. She has acted in around 250 movies in various languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English and came to be known for her acting and dancing prowess.

She debunks the rumor that film producers used to rent rehearsal halls just so that she could continue her dance practices while shooting. “In Malayalam (movies), we used to work on a shoestring budget so no producer is going to book me and a hall for me every day. But if I was staying in a hotel, a lodge or whatever accommodation, I used to go up to the terrace in the night to do my rehearsals.”

Every 80s and 90s Malayali kid will attest to the fact that while most male film stars were good actors, their dancing skills left a great deal to be desired – younger actors like Kunchacko Boban and Vineeth, with their cool moves, helped to remedy the situation.

So, of course, we ask her about her co-stars’ dancing skills. “Mr Mammooty I don’t think I have danced with because he wouldn’t dance back then. Mr Mohanlal, yes, we have shaken a leg or two – he is pretty good!”

A focus on dance

Over the years, the two-time National Award winner (she won for her roles in Mitr, My Friend and arguably her most popular movie, Manichitrathazhu) and Padma Shri awardee became selective about choosing film scripts – she was last seen in the 2020 Malayalam movie Varane Avashyamund. In previous interviews, she had spoken about being offered roles that were not exciting enough.

She can’t pinpoint the exact time she decided to focus on dance instead. Perhaps it was after a particular movie, we ask.

“There were always movies where you felt like it was not working for you,” she says. “But you don’t really show it because film people come with a lot of respect for the captain of the ship. You are trained not to, so you shouldn’t get caught in that position in the first place. But if you do, then we just went along with it, did the best we could and learnt from that experience.”

“Dance was always what I wanted to do at that point,” she continues. “I just found myself being put to use more while creating dance performances. So I just felt more useful.”

Once, she also choreographed a song in Mani Ratnam’s movie Raavan which featured Aishwarya Rai and didn’t really pursue the field of work thereafter.

“What inspired me to choreograph that song was Aishwarya Rai – she is a beautiful dancer. It was Mr Mani Ratnam who insisted that I choreograph (the song). That time he had to get me a choreographer’s card, which is very expensive. So I was thinking, all that money on one dance? And he said no no, that’s okay, we will get you the card and you have to do it … Constantly choreographing in films while also having a career in films and dance takes your time. I also have a home. So choreographing (in films) was not my cup of tea,” says Shobana, who is currently acting in a film.

We also talk about ageism in film industries across the world and how male actors are paired opposite female co-stars who are half their age.

“If some actor wants to act with somebody half his age, so be it,” she says. “Either you don’t see the movie, don’t book him or don’t write those roles for him. He is not writing it, right? Somebody else is writing, somebody else is producing, people are going and seeing the movie and it becomes a hit. Why do you blame the actor? I don’t know why they want to act with women half their age. If you asked me why I want to act with some guy half my age, I won’t have an answer to that also,” she laughs.

We almost run out of time, so we wrap up by asking how dance has changed her as a person. “Dance has not changed me as a person, but life has,” she says. “The people that you come across in life and the experiences that you have teach you lessons…”

Catch Shobana at ‘Lotus Feet’ – a classical dance show at 7.30pm at The Theatre, Mall of the Emirates. She’ll be accompanied by three other dancers and an ensemble of musicians. Tickets available on Bookmyshow