He is putting the final touches to his make-up for Hiranyakashipa's role and checking the fit of his waistband. Vedantam Venkatanagachalapathi Rao's preparations for his stage appearance might seem like yet another Kuchipudi artiste's efforts before yet another Yakshaganam performance.
Yet, there is something extraordinary about this act. For, only an hour ago, Venkatachalapathi had got off the stage after enacting Sathyabhama in Bhama Kalapam. That makes him the only Kuchipudi artiste who does ‘roopanuroopa prakriya'––ie performs both a female role and a male one on the same stage, one following the other, in the same programme.
Moreover, his Usha in ‘Usha Parinayam', or Sathyabhama are followed by very masculine or ‘macho' roles like the raging demon ‘Hiranyakashipa', Bali in ‘Ksheerasagaramadhanam', or Abhimanyu in ‘Sasirekha Parinayam'. These are arguably more difficult to handle immediately after a female role than a Krishna or Rama whose roles contain a female element. Hence, the transformation can be difficult. “The change in body language, mood, and entire deportment from a vain or winsome stree-vesham to a male one is indeed tough but I enjoy the challenge,” he says.
Other male Kuchipudi artistes who do female impersonation also do male solos/roles but on another day and event. To do one after the other on the same occasion is Venkatachalapathi's forte alone. And he manages it with an élan which has earned him much appreciation.
But then Venkatachalapathy was born to dance. He hails from a family with a tradition of Kuchipudi dance since the 14th{+h} century. His father is teacher-dancer Vedantam Rattaiah Sarma and he has legendary uncles––Vedantam Sathyanarayana Sarma, Vempati Chinna Sathyam and film-director Vedantam Raghavaiah.
After initial tutelage under his father, Venkatachalapathi was sent to train under his uncle Vedantam Radheshyam. “As per tradition, even an accomplished dancer-teacher sends his child to another guru to prevent slackness in discipline. Also, in Kuchipudi village, each artiste is an expert in a certain aspect of dance. So it is better to utilise this talent pool than confine a student to his father's teaching alone,” he explains.
Later, he was picked up by Vempati for training at Chennai. Besides male solo roles, he trained for stree-veshams under his father.
“My first stree-vesham in a public performance was of Sathyabhama in Bhama Kalapam in 1996 and it was before Shri Sathya Sai Baba,” he says with pride.
From 1999, his ‘roopanuroopa prakriya' became a regular feature. “Initially, there was skepticism and even criticism that shades of the female vesham will stay on, spill over into the male role and mar it. But now there is acceptance and encouraging appreciation. Anyway I welcome constructive criticism as it helps me to introspect and grow.”
Venkatachalapathi dreams of reviving the fading Kuchipudi Yakshaganam tradition and giving it popularity.
