I am still a fan: Pooja Kumar

Pooja Kumar shares her experience of working with Kamal Haasan for the second time in ‘Uttama Villain’ and her inclination towards classical dance

March 29, 2015 06:09 pm | Updated March 31, 2015 02:32 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

Pooja Kumar. Photo:  Mohammed Yousuf

Pooja Kumar. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

Pooja Kumar is a trained dancer, adept in Bharatanatyam, Kathak, ballet, tap and jazz. But the forthcoming Uttama Villain is the first film in which she was required to dance. Minutes before the rehearsals for her performance at the audio launch of the Telugu version of the film, Pooja Kumar shares her long innings in dance and getting to work with Kamal Haasan for the second time, after Vishwaroopam .

“My mother initiated me into dance when I was three. My dad moved to the US from Dehradun in the 1970s and I was born there. I learnt dance both in the US and in India when I’d come visiting for summer vacations. I learnt Bharatanatyam from Adyar Lakshman in Chennai, Kathak from Pandit Birju Maharaj and his nephew Om Prakash Mishra in Allahabad,” says Pooja, remembering her first performance on stage, ‘Madhuban main Radhika’ as a child, to a thunderous applause. At that time, unknowingly, a seed was sown. Pooja knew she wanted to be an artist.

“I’ve been lucky,” she confesses, talking about her second innings with Indian cinema, with Vishwaroopam . In 2000, she featured in a Tamil film titled Kadhal Rojave . “I was in India and happened to get the opportunity. But I wanted to complete my studies in political science and finance. Later, I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, which I felt was critical if you want to be an artist for a long term,” she says. Then, she began getting offers in the US. “I’ve done 17 films in English and television sitcoms for NBC and CBS,” she mentions.

Vishwaroopam brought her back to Tamil cinema and then, Uttama Villain followed. “In Vishwaroopam , I am a nuclear oncologist who doesn’t know what’s happening around her. When I was shooting in Chennai, I was in a similar situation. I was pinching myself and thinking I am sharing space with a legend,” she says. The remnants of that overwhelming feeling still remain. “I am still a fan,” she laughs. In Uttama Villain , she plays an actress. “This is the first film in which I get to dance. I have three numbers — classical, masala and Kathakali. Dancing for a film is different from a live performance where there are no ‘cuts’.”

Kamal Haasan and she bring to screen a Kathakali rendition of Hiranyakashipu’s life. “I had seen many Kathakali performances in India and the US. We rehearsed for 20 days. Plus, I think once you’ve learnt one form of classical dance, it’s easy to pick up the others. It would take five hours to do our hair and makeup and another hour for the elaborate costume. We’d shoot for 8 to 9 hours each day; it was challenging to carry the heavy headgear and do all those movements with expressions,” she says.

Though actors like Mohanlal have essayed roles of Kathakali artists before, there were no reference points to perform episodes from Hiranyakashipu story. “I didn’t want to watch other performances and hamper the way we’d do it. But I guess even if you watch someone perform, you can’t copy it. I can’t copy how Sridevi, Madhuri or Vyjayanti Mala dance. The facial features, mannerisms and physical attributes would make it unique,” says Pooja.

The actress treasures her experience of working with late director K. Balachander in the film. “I had a few scenes with him. On the sets, surrounded by people like director Ramesh Arvind, Kamal and K. Vishwanath, I got to learn about cinema and life. They’ve been in the industry for this long and it would make me feel that dreams do come true.”

While she gushes about learning from Kamal Haasan, she clams up about the film. “I’ll get into trouble revealing details. It’s a fun, majestic musical that will make the audience laugh, cry and go back home and discuss it. The relationship between different characters is beautiful and has something from which we all can learn,” she maintains.

Pooja is comfortable with Hindi and Urdu and is now learning Tamil. Ask her if Vishwaroopam opened the doors in the regional film industries and she mulls, “I shot for the film and returned to the US. Nothing excited me enough to want to take time out of my schedule there to come here, except Uttama Villain and the Vishwaroopam sequel,” she says.

This article had earlier misspelt Adyar Laskhman's name. The error has now been corrected.

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