Leela Samson (born 6 May 1951) is a

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

for many years. She was appointed as the director of

Kalakshetra Kalakshetra Foundation, formerly simply Kalakshetra, is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based in ...

by the Congress-led

United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...

in April 2005. She was subsequently also appointed as the chairperson of the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

in August 2010 and as the chairperson of the

Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

(CBFC) in April 2011. She resigned from her position as director of Kalakshetra in 2012. She resigned from her position as chairperson of the CBFC after the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal overturned her attempt to ban the film '' MSG: The Messenger of God'' featuring

Dera Sacha Sauda Dera Sacha Sauda ("Camp True-Deal"; colloquially DSS) is an Indian non-governmental organization described as a "religious cult" and "non-profit social welfare dera" that was established on 29 April 1948 by Mastana Balochistani, an ascetic f ...

founder

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan (born 15 August 1967), known also as MSG, is the head of the Indian social group Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) since 1990. Prior to a 2017 rape conviction, he was a religious leader, actor, singer, writer, songwriter, ...

in a lead role and gave it clearance. She made her film acting debut in 2015 through the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

film, '' OK Kanmani'' directed by

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

. She reprised her role in the film's

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

remake, ''

OK Jaanu ''OK Jaanu'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Shaad Ali, with screenplay and story based on Mani Ratnam's Tamil film O Kadhal Kanmani, and produced by Ratnam and Karan Johar under their banners Madras Talkies an ...

'' (2017). She also appeared in ''

Adithya Varma ''Adithya Varma'' is a 2019 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Gireesaaya in his directorial debut and produced by Mukesh Mehta under E4 Entertainment. The film stars Dhruv Vikram in his acting debut and Banit ...

'' (2019) and ''

Putham Pudhu Kaalai ''Putham Pudhu Kaalai'' () is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language anthology film, consisting of five short film segments, directed by Sudha Kongara, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rajiv Menon, and Karthik Subbaraj. The film features an ense ...

'' (2020).

Early life and training

Samson was born on 6 May 1951Sruti, Issues 160-171, Publisher P.N. Sundaresan, 1998 in

Coonoor Coonoor, natively spelt as Kunnur (), is a Taluk and a municipality of the Nilgiris district in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494. Demographics According to 2011 census, Coonoor had a population ...

, Tamil Nadu, daughter of Vice Admiral

Benjamin Abraham Samson Vice Admiral (India), Vice Admiral Benjamin Abraham 'Chippy' Samson, PVSM (25 September 1916 – 18 March 2008) was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet from 8 January 1964 to 31 May 1966. He was the firs ...

and Laila Samson. Her father belonged to the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Bene-Israelite community from

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, and her mother belonged to the

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

community from

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

. Her father joined the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

in 1939 and rose to command in the Indian Fleet in 1964. He also served as

Commandant of the National Defence Academy The Commandant of the National Defence Academy is the head and overall in-charge of the National Defence Academy. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation. He is supported by the Deputy Comm ...

in Khadakvasla between 1959 and 1962. Leela's paternal aunt Annie was the Principal of Anjum-e-Islam Muslim school for girls in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

for 31 years. When Samson was nine years of age, her father sent her to

to learn Indian classical dance and music under the founder,

Rukmini Devi Arundale Rukmini Devi Arundale (née Shastri; 29 February 1904 – 24 February 1986)Sharma, Shoba and Gangadean, Ashok (January 31, 2004 Naatya.org. Retrieved on 10 December 2018. was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian cl ...

and she studied in the Besant Theosophical High School at the same time. She completed her B.A. from

Sophia College for Women Sophia College (Autonomous) is an undergraduate women's college established in 1941 by Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The governing body of The Society for the Higher Education of Women in In ...

and this is where she was inspired to make her career in Bharatnatyam. After completing her B.A., Samson continued to learn

at Kalakshetra.

Career

Starting her career as a Bharatanatyam soloist, Samson taught at

Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) is an Indian cultural institution which runs a school for music, dance and performing arts in New Delhi. It was founded by Sumitra Charat Ram in 1952, and imparts training in Indian classical dance styles ...

, Delhi, and

Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya New Delhi is an institution established in 1939 to popularize Indian classical music and dance. The Mahavidyalaya (school) came into being to perpetuate the memory of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, the great reviver of ...

, Delhi. Over the years, she started performing across India and abroad including

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

.Artiste's Profile: Leela Samson
, Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), Government of India. In 1995, Samson formed Spanda, a dance group to review the traditional vocabulary of Bharatanatyam. Two documentary films – ''Sanchari'' and ''The Flowering Tree'' – have been made on her works. Her notable disciples included Joyce Paul Poursabahian and Justin McCarthy, who now teaches at Sri Ram Bhartiya Kala Kendra. She has taught and mentored performers including the late Kamaljit Bhasin Maalik (Meeto), Jin Shan Shan (Eesha), Navtej Singh Johar and Anusha Subramanyam. She authored a biography of Rukmini Devi Arundale. She has taught Bharatanatyam across the world, including at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, London, and the annual Milapfest in Manchester.

Awards

Samson has received the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

(1990), the Sanskriti, ''Nritya Choodamani'', ''

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

'' (2005) given by

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

, and the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

(1999–2000) for contributions to

. She was also nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress-Tamil at the 63rd Filmfare Awards South.

Controversy

Samson is known for her proximity to the Nehru-Gandhi of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

, as she was the dance tutor of

Priyanka Vadra Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ('' née'' Gandhi; born 12 January 1972) is an Indian politician and the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Uttar Pradesh. She is the daughter of former Prime minister of India Rajiv Gandh ...

. Samson held six key positions in the 10 years of Congress-led

regime. Many papers including the ''

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' alleged favouritism regarding her appointment as the chairperson of the censor board by UPA govt in 2011: Samson's tenures at Kalakshetra, Sangeet Natak Akademi and the censor board were mired with many controversies amid allegations of corruption, illegal appointments and arbitrary awarding of contracts, as well as financial irregularities. Samson was criticised by the

Vishwa Hindu Parishad The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian right-wing Hindu organization based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "to ...

when she passed the 2014

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

-starrer movie '' PK'' without any cuts, even after two board members resigned after it was granted certification, due to content allegedly designed to ridicule

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

religious philosophy and hurt Hindu sentiments. Veteran

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

actor and a former chairperson of the censor board Anupam Kher criticised Samson for playing politics by making partisan allegations while tendering her resignation. This criticism was made highlighting the history of CBFC under her leadership which agreed to make cuts in ''

Entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

'' after protests by Muslim groups and also agreed to make cuts in ''

Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal ''Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal'' is a 2012 Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Priyadarshan. It stars Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Asrani, Shreyas Talpade, Shakti Kapoor and Nyra Banerjee. The film has been produced by Percept P ...

'' after protests by Christian groups, personally assuring them that "necessary action had been taken". In December 2019,

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...

filed a case of corruption and criminal breach of trust against Samson and three other Kalakshetra colleagues for financial irregularities.

Works

* Samson, Leela (1987). ''Rhythm in Joy: Classical Indian Dance Traditions''. New Delhi: Lustre Press. * Samson, Leela (2010). ''Rukmini Devi: A Life'', Delhi: Penguin Books, India, .www.outlookindia.com "First Light: Embodies the spirit of Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam in content, style and visual appeal"
/ref>

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Leela Samson Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samson, Leela Bene Israel Performers of Indian classical dance Indian classical choreographers Indian dance teachers Dance writers 1951 births Living people Indian Jews Women writers from Tamil Nadu Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian arts administrators Kalakshetra Foundation alumni Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award People from Nilgiris district Indian women choreographers Indian choreographers Dancers from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian dancers Women educators from Tamil Nadu Teachers of Indian classical dance 20th-century Indian women artists 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Educators from Tamil Nadu Women artists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century women educators Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema