HYDERABAD: The haleem mania has now affected Chennaites too. Before the picture of scrumptious dish from Hyderabad pops up in your head, we are talking about Haleem Khan, the renowned Kuchipudi dancer from the land of haleem, who has made both small and silver screen beauties master the art of mudras and vinyasams.
Haleem was in Chennai on Saturday to perform as well talk at the INK Talks. What makes him stand out is not just his 900 shows so far, but how he delivers Kuchipudi with female impersonation (Rupanu Rupam in Sanskrit), which is an ancient style of the dance form.
His topic for the INK talk was ‘reviving the culture.’ “I spoke on how I researched about ancient culture and made this dance form relevant for the current generation. The reception was tremendous. I liked the way they had appreciated art and its worth. I met a few successful people from different fields. New ideas, new energies were flowing in this time. I met Mukund Govind Rajan, who is a member of group executive council and brand custodian of Tata Sons Limited. He was a walking Wikipedia,” he shares.
Elaborating on female impersonation, Haleem says, “It is an ancient style of Kuchipudi dance started by group of Brahmins (male) as all the roles and characters in the story were depicted only by male dancers only and it was a tradition. With time, the art form too changed. But I want to bring back the essence of ancient style back in form. I believe, it is necessary to carry forward the legacy to next generation. It shouldn’t be confined to just text books. I am trying hard to keep this traditional aspect of Kuchipudi alive.
About the challenges he faces, he says, “It is not a cakewalk for a man to transform into a woman. I often get lambasted and laughed at, but I am determined to stick to the age-old tradition. It also a supreme test to an artist to be able to perform both as a male an a female.”
Haleem started pursuing his childhood dream of learning Kuchipudi from the age of 15 all by himself at his home town Ongole. “It has been 17 years since I have started to learn but the thirst to explore more into this form is not getting quenched. I want to learn more and in fact keep learning all my life,” he laughs.
Haleem has performed over 900 shows around the globe. “My best memory is the female impersonation I did for the first time at Guntur. The next was when my parents attended for the first and last time.”