Kajol Bishnoi

NEW JERSEY (TIP): India‘s renowned classical dancer and Bollywood actor Hema Malini dazzled the audiences in her dramatic and exquisite dance ballet “Durga” at the NJPAC in New Jersey on Saturday, June 21, 2014. The auditorium was packed with an excited audience, eager to see Hema Malini perform her much-renowned ballet. The evening began on an auspicious note with the traditional lamp lighting ceremony led by legendary music maestro Pandit Jasraj and Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, Consul General of India in New York.

Then followed a powerful performance of four tremendously talented local dance groups. They set the tone and mood for the main act with their phenomenal dance skills. They included: Bina Menon’s Kalashri School of Arts, Archana Joglekar’s Archana Nrityalaya, Rita Sharma’s Rita Dance Academy, and Sudha Grover’s Sudhamini Dance Academy. Hema Malini’s first performance in North America in 2014 was a much-anticipated event and she commanded the stage with grace, talent, beauty and a power-packed performance as “Sati, Parvati, and Durga.”

Hema Malini’s captivating performance

The audience was spellbound as she and her group of 25 dancers and artists gave an enthralling and vivid performance. This spectacular event featured rich, colorful and authentic costumes, and the exquisite staging such as the dramatic rendering of Sati’s funeral pyre had the audience gasping. Hema Malini excelled as Durga. Beautiful, fiery, and majestic – she was a vision to watch.

The ballet is in the form of a humble offering to the Divine Mother and is an attempt to capture the passion and devotion that invariably accompanies Mother worship. The subject matter of this choreography is based on the Charitas (stories) from the Devi Mahatmaya and also from the common folklore of Sati, Parvati, and Durga, in that order. The audiences at NJPAC gave Hema Malini a standing ovation!