Chetana Uttej makes dance, drama spring to life

Chetana Uttej is the granddaughter of freedom fighter and Burra Katha artiste Akupatni Sreeramulu from Nalgonda district. Her father is the Nandi Award-winning Telugu actor Uttej, while her mother Padmavathi has studied fine arts from JNTU and is a design consultant. Art runs in Chetana’s blood. The intricate contemporary cum classical dance presentation at Ravindra Bharathi proved it beyond doubt. It was a dance drama presentation that aimed to bring out eight emotions (Ashtavidha Nayikas) as mentioned in Natya Shastra.

“When I was about three years old, I enacted the role of Krishna in a Telugu movie called Gillikajjalu. After few years, I started learning classical dance from Smt Bala Tripura Sundari (daughter of guru Vempati Chinna Satyam) and Madhurima Narla in Hyderabad. I used to perform at Nandi Awards and Children’s Film Festival functions. My creative pursuits also led me to acting in theatre. I have worked in Telugu plays by Tanikella Bharani, Rallapalli Narasimha Rao and Chatla Sreeramulu. I also played parts in English plays at St Francis during my college days. I have acted in few Telugu movies too. In hindsight, I realised that there is always another chance to rectify yourself in movie shoots with retakes. While in a theatre or dance performance, it’s a straight exam. One needs to forget everything and work with confidence. On stage everything is art. It’s physical, emotional and soulful.  I enjoy my work and do everything with my soul in it. It’s all about the audience experiencing a similar feeling and complimenting us for the same,” says Chetana.

She always recalls valuable advice from her parents. “My father has always brought in a sense of discipline into my work. He is a keen observer and believes in details. My mother is all about ‘the final touch to my work’. It’s very important for a woman to find her right place in the society and that reflected in my contemporary dance piece Anantha. It traces the journey of a little, helpless but thoughtful girl in mother’s womb who has the capacity to become a powerful leader in society. ”

Chetana finds Hyderabad to be a very ‘cool’ city. “We celebrate all the festivals of Hyderabad and there is a variety of cuisine/sweets for each occasion. I have established ‘Mayukha’ studio which trains students in Kuchipudi, Carnatic music, Yoga and Zumba. I love to move around the bylanes of the city including the Charminar area. It’s also the right time for ‘Haleem’. Even in college, my friends would give me importance for being a trained artiste. I would tell them that I am no different, when it comes to having fun together. People of Hyderabad have great respect for artists and I enjoy their adulation for my work,” she concludes before heading to perform on the stage.