Kalpana
The only film by the visionary dancer and choreographer Uday Shankar is a utopian dream of cultural renewal and a celebration of Indian dance in all its variety. Unfolding as an epic film within a film, Kalpana tells the story of a dancer (the director himself) who is determined to open a cultural center and breathe new life into India’s traditional artistic forms. Meanwhile, the visible adoration between him and his lead dancer arouses the jealousy of his enterprising companion. A riot of ecstatic imagery—including swirling surrealist dance spectacles—is interwoven with anticolonial, anticapitalist commentary, making for a radical, proto-Bollywood work that is one of the most influential films in Indian cinema.
Available In
Collector's Set
Cast
- Uday Shankar
- Udayan, film director
- Amala Uday Shankar
- Uma
- Lakshmi Kanta
- Kamini
- Dr. Glv. Subbarao
- Drawing master
- Birendra Banerjee
- Noor
- Swaraj Mitter Gupta
- Ramesh
- Anil Kumar Chopra
- Madan, schoolteacher
- Brijo Behari Banerjee
- Uma’s father
- Chiranjilal Shah
- Gope
- Devilal Samar
- Sundar
- K. Mukerjee
- Grandfather
- Dulal Sen
- Mama
- G.V. Karandikar
- Producer
- Ganesh Bannerjee
- Theater manager
- Farman Ali
- Young Udayan
- Begam Zamarudh
- Young Uma
Credits
- Director
- Uday Shankar
- Producer
- Uday Shankar
- Writer
- Uday Shankar
- Dialogue
- Amrital Nagar
- Lyrics
- Sumitranandan Pant
- Cinematography
- K. Ramnoth
- Music director
- Vishnudas Shirali
- Choreography
- Uday Shankar
- Choreography assistants
- Amala Uday Shankar
- Choreography assistants
- Anil Kumar Chopra
- Choreography assistants
- Ganesh Joshi
- Costumes
- Amala Uday Shankar
- Makeup
- N. Sahadeva Rao
- Editing
- N. K. Gopal
- Sound
- C. E. Biggs
- Art direction
- A. K. Sekar
- Special effects
- G. Gnanayutham
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