A dance sequence lasting barely a few minutes in a Dharma Productions romantic drama has managed to do what years of debate could not .
This event in media has forced Bollywood to confront the long standing question of respect of classical arts in the industry.
In Chand Mera Dil, Ananya Pandey plays Chandni, the daughter of a Bharatanatyam practitioner. Her character performs a fusion of hiphop and locking instead of the traditional Bharatanatyam .
The backlash picked up fast after the viral X post that read " Bharatanatyam devolved in 200BCE and ended with Ananya Pandey in 2026". Many user criticised her for stiff movements and disrespecting the art.
The voice that stung most came from the world of classical performers and awardees . Anita Ratnam a renowned Bharatanatyam performer said, "Watching this clip felt like Bharatnatyam being held hostage by a catastrophic misunderstanding of the form. Somewhere between the flailing arms and random camera moves, the dance quietly packed its bags and exited the building,"
Veteran classical dancer Sonal Mansingh was even more direct when she said "I won't even call it a performance. Im sorry. If you can say Sonal Mansingh performs and Ananya Pandey also performs, we can't say that,"
What the controversy really put on the table was not about one actress or one film. It is about a pattern that has been long formed due to negligence and sense of superiority from the film industry. Bollywood has borrowed immensely from the classical arts be it costumes, story ideas, or choreography without giving due credit to any.
For practitioners ,who have spent countless hours in their lives perfecting the arts, this choreography feels heartbreaking.
Chunky Pandey also stepped in to defend his daughter and said " I think people completely misunderstood it. It was never meant to be pure Bharatanatyam. It was a fusion performance, the kind of experimental dance you often see college students perform at social or cultural events.
It is a fair point when taken from a certain perspective . However critics argue that the problem lies not with the fusion but with the lack of mastery before beginning the fusion. Critics also point out that the film frames this as extraordinary when it is anything but.
This reminds one of the ballet controversy with Timothée Chalamet, the American French actor who claimed that "no one cares about this anymore", referring to classical arts including ballet and opera.
He was met with huge backlash the likes of which Bollywood has not experienced in the recent times .
In this case we conclude that BharatAnatyam is a revered art form and deserves due credit . However, we do not completely dismiss the fusion element . It open up further debates about regulatory measures in the performing arts.