June 27
Born Today:
Amala Shankar
Indian dancer Amala Shankar (1919-2020) joined Uday Shankar (1900-1977) in his performing company as a youth and married him in 1939. They toured all over the world and she danced in Kalpana (1948), written and directed by Shankar, and this film is said to be the precursor of Bollywood films. Amala Shankar performed until her early nineties and worked to keep the Shankar legacy vital and alive.
Also Born Today: Indian classical dance scholar V. K. Narayana Menon (1911-1997) was an art critic and he used his position to promote the arts in India. He also wrote a biography of bharatanatyam dancer Balasaraswati (1918-1984).
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Movie: Bathing Beauty released in 1944