'Respect our tradition:' Bharatnatyam dancer Sonal Mansingh slam Ananya Panday’s dance sequence in Chand Mera Dil

Ananya Panday's rendition of the classical dance Bharatanatyam has become the talk of the internet. While some praised the fusion, others have slammed her for giving a twist to this classical dance form. Now, renowned classical dancer Sonal Mansingh and Congress leader Dr Shama Mohamed have criticised the actor's Bharatanatyam sequence in the film.

Mansingh, who has been honoured with prestigious awards like the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan and is known for her expertise in Bharatanatyam, wrote that one shouldn't dabble in anything without proper knowledge or training.

Slamming Panday's performance, she wrote: "This latest film clip of Ananya’s so-called Bharatanatyam is a timely reminder for movie makers, actors, and musicians: learn to respect our traditions. Don’t dabble in anything you don’t know or learn." #AnanyaPanday #ChandMeraDil.''

Dr. Mohamed, who learned the dance form at a young age, was also among those who criticised it, writing: ''Ananya Pandey has killed my favorite dance form - Bharatnatyam! I have learnt it from the age of 7 to the age of 13 - did my arangetram too in kuwait & never looked back. Classical dance needs to be studied over a period of time & cant be manufactured for Ms Pandey! Please dont ever insult such beautiful art as Bharatnatyam.''

Backlash over Ananya Panday's scene

Ananya Pandey has recently been facing backlash for her Bharatanatyam fusion sequence in the film Chand Mera Dil. In the movie, she plays the role of Chandni, who is the daughter of a Bharatanatyam dancer. In the opening and closing sequences of the movie, the actress performs a Bharatanatyam-inspired dance with a mix of modern hip-hop and locking. Following the heavy criticism, Ananya's father and actor Chunky Panday have come out in her support.

Directed by Vivek Soni and backed by Dharma Productions, it also stars Lakshya in the lead role.

Chand Mera Dil review

Soni doesn’t waste much time setting up the drama. He divides the two-hour film between childhood romance and an adult relationship. Starting with a dreamy world of Aarav and Chandani, their sweet and cringeworthy romance from texting each other to spending every second of their lives together and all this with the music in the background, something that we have seen multiple times in movies, but never gets boring. Aarav is the cool boy of the college, with six-pack abs and a cigarette in one hand. At the same time, Chandani is the girl who always prefers to wear pastel-coloured churidar with a dupatta. Their romance phase looks beautiful and entertaining on the screen. But soon, you may get bored with the cringiness or over-the-top dialogues when it comes to proving love. The good and different thing is that the movie never gets heavy with misogyny, where the boy wants the girl at any cost, and no other guy in college can even look at her. Thankfully, that kind of stuff is skipped. Read the full review here.