Classical dancer Savitha Sastry and her husband AK Srikanth have worked together personally and professionally. Savita who started off as a classical Bharatanatya dancer soon started blending contemporary dance into her dance repertoire. Soon enough, most of her dance productions were based on the writings of her husband. One such work that will be released on September 25 is Three Colors: Green with the tagline Crossroads of a Woman’s Mind.
The film is a part of a trilogy written and directed by Srikanth. “The first piece is called Green , and the next will be White .” Green , he explains, is about a woman who dreams of becoming a dancer. The woman’s everyday scenes were shot at home, while her dream sequences were shot in a quarry, he says.
Srikanth shares how they selected locations for the shoot. “We chose very remote areas and shot early in the mornings or late in the evenings when there would be no one around. We also had to work with bare minimum staff and follow all the health regulations. We did everything ourselves — cleaning, setting and shooting.”
What inspired him to write the trilogy? Srikanth replies, “It comes from the life of my late mother, Meenakshi. I have seen her struggles. She could have been a dancer, but was unable to pursue her passion. Many women give up their dreams and aspirations and are often taken for granted. My mother’s life, her dreams, aspirations and struggles have inspired me to write and direct this trilogy.”
This dance will see Savitha blend the classical and contemporary. “Though she started off as pure classical dancer, she soon started experimenting with modern forms as we wanted to reach out to a larger audience and also create dance pieces that every one could comprehend,” says Srikanth, who also adds that the dance trilogy is based on the colours of the Indian flag.
Young film director S Jay has done the cinematography for this film. “He is the one who chose the locations for the film,” shares Srikanth.
The husband-wife duo have been uploading their dances on YouTube since 2018 and also began making short films based on dance. Their first short film titled The Descent won the Best Short Film Award at the Calcutta International Film Festival 2019.
Green will be released on September 25 at 4pm and can be viewed on Savitha Sastry’s social media platforms.
