Chand Mera Dil: Charu Shankar Recalls Learning Bharatanatyam; 'Both Ananya Panday And I Were Deeply...' - EXCL

Ananya

Panday and Lakshya's romantic drama, Chand Mera Dil, recently released in theatres. Directed by Vivek Soni, the movie opened to mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. Post its release, Zoom exclusively interviewed Charu Shankar, who plays Ananya aka Chandni's mother in the film. Charu essays the role of Nivedita, a single mother and a Bharatanatyam dancer. Speaking to us, the actress shared that this movie is special to her because she discovered her character through the dance form. She further recalled how her co-star Ananya was 'deeply committed' during this process.

Charu Shankar on learning Bharatanatyam

In conversation with Zoom, Charu admitted that she didn't want to act like a dance, but wanted her spine, gaze, hands and even the way she wore silence. The actress wanted to feel like someone who had lived with classical dance for decades.

Recalling her training for it, the Chand Mera Dil actress said, "I trained with Suhail Bhan, a Bharatanatyam teacher for months- I learned mudras, abhinaya, nattuvangam, jatis in Adi Taalam, even how to teach a Bharatanatyam class, because I wanted dance to exist in Nivedita unconsciously. Both Ananya and I were deeply committed to this process, and we really bonded over it! Dance became a shared secret language between Nivedita and her daughter."Charu added that in the film, Chandni not only inherits an art form from Nivedita, but also resilience, dignity and courage. She believes both of them are navigating unfair domestic realities and neither of the duo collapses under it. "They take a stance. They walk away when they need to. There’s tremendous strength there. Their artistry becomes part of how they survive, how they process pain, and eventually, how they re-claim themselves," she added.

Charu Shankar on working with Vivek Soni

Continuing the conversation, Charu reflected on working with director Vivek on this film. She described him as a sensitive soul who writes deeply from the heart and from lived experience. Her first meeting with him turned into almost full-day-long conversation about emotional nuances of the script.

"He was genuinely interested in hearing what I felt about the story, and we ended up discussing so many complicated, troubled relationships we had observed around us. That became the foundation from which we began building Nivedita’s character in Chand Mera Dil," she said.Meanwhile, Chand Mera Dil collected Rs 20.75 crore at the box office in India and it made Rs 27.55 crore at the worldwide box office.