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Dance like a winner
The National Award for Dance Like a Man has given Pamela Rooks a fillip after a low phase, writes Saibal Chatterjee.
The National Award for Pamela Rooks' latest film, Dance Like a Man, weeks ahead of its release, couldn't have come at a more opportune time. It has given the New Delhi-based director a fillip after a rather low phase. The screen adaptation of Mahesh Dattani's play of the same name had surprisingly failed to make the Indian Panorama cut last year.
"I was sorely disappointed," says Pamela. "But then we know exactly what kind of behind-the-scenes manipulation goes on in the selection process. The National Award is a vindication." Adds Pamela: "It is indeed nice winning a National Award without resorting to lobbying."
Dance Like a Man hit the commercial screens on October 1 amid a flurry of routine Bollywood potboilers. It expectedly stood out in the sea of mediocrity. "I haven't got any concrete feedback yet on its box office performance, but I have heard that the film has got positive reviews everywhere," says the director from the interiors of Madhya Pradesh, where she is currently taking "a well-deserved break".
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| Dance Like a Man hasgiven Pamela Rooks a fillip after a rather low phase |
The last time Pamela won a National Award - it was for her debut film,
Miss Beatty's Children
- was over a decade ago. Train to Pakistan, her best-known film to date, went empty-handed. She asks: "Isn't that strange?"
The principal performances in the multi-layered Dance Like a Man have drawn spontaneous accolades. Mohan Agashe, Shobhana, Anoushka and Arif Zakaria have all garnered praise for their contribution to this sensitive exploration of gender identity and sexuality through a complex family drama that pits father against son, mother against daughter, husband against wife.
Nothing quite like Dance Like a Man has ever been seen in India and the film has gone one up on Train to Pakistan by bagging a coveted National Award. So, will her new film dislodge Train to Pakistan from its preeminent position in Pamela Rooks' oeuvre?
