Mumbai: The Bharat Citizens Action Forum (BCAF) honored and felicitated Kathak exponent and actress Ranjana Bhattacharya at a special function on the occasion of Gudi Padwa with a special citation and award for her contribution to promote Indian Classical Dance and Kathak in particular. Also present at the function were Bollywood photographers D K Soni and Raju Asrani.
Ranjana Bhattacharya who recently performed at the Bhavans Mumbai Kathak festival and the Taj Mahotsav was also honored with the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar award recently. Ranjana Bhattacharya has been studying Kathak for the last 10 years under Kathak gurus Jayantimala and Sitara Devi. Jayantimala is the daughter of the legendary Padma Shree awardee Sitara Devi.
Ranjana Bhattacharya said, “I am honored to be presented with the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar award for my contribution to dance, art and culture. It’s a long way and the woods and lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep,” she said quoting Robert Frost.
Ranjana Bhattacharya will also perform at the Maharashtra Cultural Festival to be held in Mumbai during April this year. In addition to this she is slated to perform at a Maharashtra Day function on 1st May in Mumbai along with Kathak guru Jayantimala in the presence of 95-year-old Kathak Queen Sitara Devi who will be the Chief Guest at the function.
Ranjana has displayed her Kathak skills at the Taj Mahotsav and has given performances at the Lucknow Kathak Kendra, Isckon Mumbai, Ujjain Festival last year where she performed with her guru Jayantimala.
Ranjana has been studying Kathak under the guidance of Jayantimala for the last 7 to 8 years and has given hundreds of performances in India and abroad. After studying Kathak for about two years she got a bengali film Sonar Sansar opposite superstar Prosenjit which launched her in the world of films and Bollywood eventually. She also featured in films like Zilla Gaziabad, Right Ya Wrong, Chashme Baddoor and has done ad films like Vithoba dantmanjan, Nmart, Zalim lotion, Kabjamrut, etc. She also did a Bhojpuri film Ee Mati Mein Sab Kuch Kathe produced by her Guruji in which she played the lead female role. She has also been doing theater for the last 5 years and has acted in plays like Uncle Samjha Karo, See No Evil Hear No Evil and Get rid of my Wife.
Ranjana says, “My guru has a house where we practice and live the entire day. That’s like my second home where I eat, live, dance. Sometimes bade guruji chit-chats and teaches us but we all are very scared of Sitaraji as she is a strict and very disciplined teacher.”
Ranjana Bhattacharya and her guru Jayantimala will also perform at the World Dance Congress India to be held in Mumbai in June this year.
