Sayee and Subbulakshmi, popularly known as Sayee–Subbulakshmi, were two Indian female

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 ...

dancers who performed on stage in South Indian and Hindi films. They were a ''twin dance'' duo and were popular during the 1950s and 60s. They were noted for their synchronised dancing. They also performed Kathak and folk style dances in some regional language films and Hindi films.

Family

They hail from a very large family whose members are well connected to the film industry. They are the descendants of Panrutti Adilakshmi, mother of Carnatic singers P. A. Rajamani and

P. A. Periyanayaki P. A. Periyanayaki (14 April 1927 – 1990) was an Indian playback singer and actress who worked mainly in Tamil-language films. She also performed stage concerts as a Carnatic singer. Early life She hails from Thiruvadhigai near Panruti. ...

, who were popularly known as the ''Madras Sisters'' (Not to be confused with the Madras Sisters (Sashi, Kala, and Mala). They had also featured in Tamil films in various roles. P. A. Periyanayaki was also known as a playback singer. ''Lux soap beauty'' R. Padma, who featured in the 1941 comedy film '' Sabapathy'' is the mother-in-law of Sayee. Sayee is the daughter of P.A.Rajamani and Subbulakshmi is P.A.Rajamani's maternal first cousin. (Note: Sayee is said to be the daughter of P. A. Rajamani and Subbulakshmi, who is 3 years older to Sayee, is her cousin. This could not be confirmed. However, both of them are closely related and belong to the same extended family.)

Dance training

Muthuswamy Pillai is a dance teacher who has choreographed dances for films since 1938.

approached Muthuswami Pillai when he was choreographing a dance for

B. S. Saroja B. S. Saroja (born 18 November 1929) is an Indian actress in Malayalam and Tamil films. She is the daughter of Johnson, who acted in the first Malayalam film, Vigathakumaran. She acted with MGR and Sivaji in their only movie together, Koondukk ...

in the film '' Inbavalli'' at Salem Ratna Studios. She requested him to train her niece Sayee and her cousin Subbulakshmi in dancing. Muthuswami Pillai accepted. He stayed with the family so that he could give exclusive training to the two. Sayee was about 5 years old at that time and Subbulakshmi was 3 years older. He made both watch dance performances by

Kumari Kamala Kumari Kamala (born 16 June 1934) is an Indian dancer and actress (also known as Kamala Lakshman). Initially featured as a child dancer, Kamala appeared in almost 100 Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films throughout her career. In the 1970s, she ...

. The two girls had a rigorous training - 3 hours in the morning and another 3 or 4 hours in the evening. Muthusami Pillai trained them for 7 years in between his film assignments. He took classes whenever he was in town. Sayee and Subbulakshmi were trained in Kathak dance by Gopi Krishna, who was a dancer and the choreographer for the famed Hindi film ''

Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje ''Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' () is a 1955 Indian Hindi-language dance film directed by V. Shantaram. It stars Shantaram's wife Sandhya and dancer Gopi Krishna in lead roles. One of the earlier Technicolor films made in India, the film won t ...

''.

Arangetram and Introduction to films

Sayee and Subbulakshmi had their Arangetram on 14 September 1953 at R. R. Sabha Hall in Chennai presided over by Rajah Sir M. A. Muthaiah Chettiar. Within a year they had their first performance in the 1954 film ''

Malaikkallan ''Malaikkallan'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language action film starring P. Bhanumathi and M. G. Ramachandran. The film was released on 22 July 1954, and was an astounding success and highest collection of the year. It ran more than 140 days i ...

''. The film was produced in 6 languages that opened opportunities far and wide for this dancing duo. Apart from dancing, they have also featured in minor roles in some of the films they danced in. Since 1954, they have performed in many South Indian regional films and Hindi films.

Bharatanatyam performances

They held stage performances as well. When

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

built a new house ''Annai Illam'' at Thiyagaraya Nagar in Chennai, the Bharatanatyam performance by Sayee and Subbulakshmi was the main item during reception.

Style of dancing

The duo were felicitated by

N. S. Krishnan Nagercoil Sudalaimuthu Krishnan, popularly known as Kalaivanar () and also as NSK, was an Indian actor-comedian, theatre artist, playback singer and writer in the early stages of the Tamil film industry – in the 1940s and 1950s. He is conside ...

as ''Pambara Sahodarigal'' (Spinning top sisters). The speed, precision, flexibility, springing leg movements coupled with the synchronisation made them a unique pair.

Dance Teacher

After the 1960s, the trend in Indian films underwent a radical change and the type of dances performed by this duo went unnoticed. Subbulakshmi taught Bharatanatyam to students. She was felicitated with the

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 ...

award in 2000 for her services as a teacher.

Personal life

Sayee was married to V. S. Santaram, eldest son of ''Lux beauty'' R. Padma. They have a son. Sayee suffered from breast cancer and died on 26 January 2010.

Filmography

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* - Their First film dance in

. Bharatanatyam based. * - From the film

Bharosa ''Bharosa'' () is a Hindi film released in 1963. The film is remembered for the music and songs. The music for the film was composed by Ravi. Rajendra Krishan penned the lyrics of the songs. ''Woh Dil Kahan Se Laun'' rendered by Lata Mangeshk ...

. Kathak based. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sayee-Subbulakshmi Indian female classical dancers Indian film choreographers Indian women choreographers Indian choreographers Performers of Indian classical dance Entertainer duos Indian women playback singers Women artists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian dancers Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema 20th-century Indian actresses Indian film actresses Bharatanatyam exponents 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women artists Dancers from Tamil Nadu