Actress Ananya Panday recently generated controversy following her dance scene in the movie “Chand Mera Dil”, which was widely reproduced and circulated on social media platforms. She received harsh criticism from many individuals for her choreography being “robotic”, “awkward”, and “disrespectful” to the traditional dance form of Bharatanatyam.
Viral Dance Clip Sparks Backlash
A video clip of Ananya performing in a fusion of Bharatanatyam and modern dance at a college cultural event was posted on X, Instagram, and Reddit shortly after its theatrical release. Rather than receiving praise, Ananya’s performance has been subjected to extensive trolling.
Many individuals have noted that Ananya’s facial expressions, body movement, and mudras did not meet the standards of Bharatanatyam because they did not possess the grace or precision associated with the dance’s numerous generations as one of the four major classical dances in India.
Robot Doing Bharatanatyam: Internet Reacts
When the skateboarding footage of Ananya Panday became popular, meme makers and internet users took the opportunity to make fun of her dancing as they created memes and commentary via social media. Some of the comments included comparing Ananya to “a robot doing Bharatanatyam” and suggesting that “the exorcism worked halfway and the demon stayed for the choreography.”
The users on Reddit also provided comments that were critical of Ananya’s performance as they posted comments making fun of how difficult it is to learn and perform the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. One user stated that he thought that Ananya’s performance looked “more like a robot than a real dancer” while another user used the joke that the name of her style of dance is “Bharatanatyam ❌ Ananyanatyam ✅.”
Others accused Bollywood filmmakers of making light of Indian classical dance forms in an effort to use them commercially. As a result of the backlash towards Ananya, numerous users began to post video links featuring performances by renowned dancers like Sridevi and Sai Pallavi performing examples of many styles. Many users stated that Sridevi and Sai Pallavi possess a gracefulness, emotion and great skill in performing Bharatanatyam compared to Ananya’s performance.
Social media reaction
Due to captions that stated “This is how you do it,” many people commented on how there is a stark difference in the skill level of traditional classical dancers versus how they are portrayed when walking into Bollywood-style dance number. Actors have been praised, such as Sai Pallavi, because she is an accomplished dancer, and she has great chemistry on-screen. The debate around fusion dance vs. authentic Indian dance continues.
A lot of people on social media were very critical of the dance scene; however, some defended the actress and said that the choreography was not designed to be a true Bharatanatyam performance but rather a fusion between classical Indian and rap/hip hop style dancing, therefore some of the unusual movement may be attributed to that .
The supporters of while some felt the trolling was getting out of hand and became very personal, many stated that dancers perform based on the director’s vision and choreography instead of their personal ability.
However, this sparked more debate around whether or not Bollywood should adhere to training and authenticating the use of classical Indian dance when representing culturally important objects like the Nataraja idol in the back of the sequence shown.
Film Receives Mixed Response
Chand Mera Dil is a romantic film about young people falling in love and coming of age, and it’s directed by Vivek Soni. Ananya Panday and Lakshya are the leading actors in this movie, which was received with mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office, but has been the topic of discussion online due to controversy over the dance sequence in the film.
While critics may have reacted negatively to the film, the amount of attention it has received due to the controversy has translated into a great deal of online activity, and dance clips from this sequence have continued to trend across various social media.
Traditional Arts and Film: A Sensitivity to Art in Culture
This incident is just another example of how deeply the Indian audience values their classical performing arts. Bharatanatyam is not just an entertainment form; rather, it is a cultural tradition with deep roots in discipline, the art of storytelling, and spiritual expression. As a result of this emotional and cultural connection to these art forms, some viewers feel they must respond when they perceive inaccuracies in the portrayal of these art forms in film.
Therefore, it is unclear whether this backlash will have any impact on the long-term perception of the film, however, at this moment, Ananya Panday’s dance sequence has become one of the most talked-about events in Bollywood on the internet this week.
