After years of photographing Chamakte Sitaaray (Shining Stars)—a spectacular annual Indian talent show—I was also invited to film this year’s performance. I gotta tell you, the resulting 5-mins highlights film that I spent months editing turned out so high-octane and addictive that I keep replaying it, not wanting it to end… Will you feel the same?
I started working with Indianica Academy when I covered their Chamakte Sitaaray 2017 photography. It was my first, but the Academy has been running the show since 1996, the year it was established. It was also the year I moved to the US, but I didn’t go into photography until ten years later.
Chamakte Sitaaray and Their Guru
Indianica Academy was founded by Padma Khanna and Jagdish Sidana. Before arriving in the US, Ms. Khanna was gracing Bollywood in Mumbai and was known as “the dancing queen of Indian cinema”. She acted in more than 300 movies in all regional languages of India.
Ms. Khanna’s students were invited to London during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Under her direction and choreography, 27 performing artists of Indianica Academy mesmerized a series of dance festivals at Greenwich and Warwick Castle. They received great laurels for a stellar performance and representation of Indian arts and culture. Later, a group of 18 performers went to Paris for the Disney Performing Arts program in 2016. The young talents also performed on stage at Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, Broadway, and others.
Every year since its inception, Indiana Academy presents its annual cultural and talent show titled Chamakte Sitaaray, where the students—everyday kids to adults—showcase their enthusiasm and knowledge of Kathak dance and other folk dances of India, as well as a fusion of modern dance.
Navarasa
In the midst of these annual shows, I also explored an art project, Navarasa: Nine Emotions of Indianica Academy Choreographers, along with the founder’s son, the wonderful Akshar Sidana, during which I made these headshots of him and his mother, Ms. Khanna. There are more details in that curious blog if you have time.
Filming the Show
As mentioned, Akshar asked if I could also do a video of Chamakte Sitaaray besides the regular photography. I’ve never filmed a show or concert yet, so it was a thrilling challenge that I eagerly accepted. Two music videos I filmed earlier this year had built a perfect foundation: an exotic fire dance by my long-time belly dancer client and a boudoir music video that became one of my best creative works (alas, remaining private).
The show took place at the Colonia High School in Colonia, NJ. My team comprised of four people: two photographers and two videographers. I wanted the fun part, so I led the video coverage. Two cameras were static while I was all over the place with my new mirrorless camera on a gimbal. I have a cameo of sorts at 03:27.
By “all over the place,” I mean squeezing among the Chamakte Sitaaray dancers during their stage live performances, too! I worried a little about that part. Not wanting to make a foolish bump into anyone in front of hundreds of people in the audience, I had to take a few risks. Another consideration was not wanting to become an annoying fly for the spectators. Yet, vividly envisioning the promising film material, I got Akshar’s permission to crawl and ambush the stage.
The achieved results speak for themselves—you are submerged into the dance and feel the airflow from the fabric of the costumes sliding on your cheek! Arguably, it is a more intriguing approach compared to safely filming from the audience.
Editing the Film
Oh, man… With the Chamakte Sitaaray output from four video cameras on half a terabyte of data, I was a bit nervous about sifting through all of that… I’ve never processed so much data for any past project! Even my Indian weddings get 2-3 video cameras at most! The sheer volume wasn’t the problem, though.
It was the sync.
It’s one thing just to overlay music on a birthday party or a wedding, as I’ve done many times already. You’d surely benefit from matching occasional frame transitions to beat drops here and there, but a dance performance is ALL about the beat, and every number might have its own beat. And you can’t use the original tracks in a highlight film pieced from hundreds of tiny clips. It would sound like an audio Frankenstein!
Short videos need 1-3 songs, either in full-length or combining several long cutouts. I had to ask Akshar for his choices for the soundtrack. He sent me the names of three pieces, all seemingly originating from Bollywood energy:
Then came the most mind-boggling part. I needed to construct a meaningful Chamakte Sitaaray story, blending the three songs’ different vibes and somehow finding a place for each of the 10+ performances. I didn’t want to use a random mix of the dance moves from this 3-hour show, which is a typical editing approach for action-driven events. Instead, I wanted to present each dance as a whole, albeit in an abbreviated format.
One might do an okay job at that, but I wanted more—an organic flow, where not only the beats set the frame cuts (now complicated with the introduction of soundtracks’ own beats!), but also where the scenes, moves, and emotions are thoughtfully depicted. Oof, just take a look and feel it. It’s hard to put it in words. The examples are the moments at 00:40-00:50, 01:26, 01:39, 01:54-01:57, 01:59, 02:10, 02:12-02:20, 02:36-02:45, 03:01-03:05, 03:14-03:17, 03:21, 03:32-03:36, 03:32-03:47, 03:55, 04:16, 04:26-04:28, 04:32.
Get this—none of the three video soundtracks were actually used for the Chamakte Sitaaray performances! The dancers seem to move to the soundtrack, but I just tried hard to sync their moves to the Bollywood music, which is a pretty far cry from the traditional music they danced to on the stage. I surprised myself at how I pulled it off. I often say that I’m blessed and led by a divine power.
Final Word
It may be just me, knowing how much thought and effort I put into this, but every time my Chamakte Sitaaray film ends, I hardly resist playing it over again to appreciate everything that went into the production. Let’s enjoy together now!
I hope this highlights film stirs your aesthetic and cultural imagination. No matter how masterfully a video is created, it will pale compared to the actual performance. The stage’s talented Shining Stars, witty hosts (with occasional Bollywood guest appearances), and auditorium vibe will mesmerize you. On behalf of Indianica Academy and the Zorz Studios team, I invite you to keep an eye on the next year’s announcement of Chamakte Sitaaray 2024 (here’s their Facebook page). If you’ve never experienced Indian dance culture, this art show will be one of the most dazzling moments in your life. I guarantee it, and this is not a sponsored statement.
