MUMBAI : No doubt the art world is missing the legend of Indian classical music, Pandit Birju Maharaj. How we forget the immense contribution of Birju Maharaj ji to Indian classical music and to Bollywood. We have also seen glimpses of his choreography in movies like Bajirao Mastani and Devdas. Now, his nephew, Harsh Bushra, is currently working on the biopic of his late uncle. 

Who better than his nephew to make a biopic on his the late Pandit Birju Maharaj? Harsh Mishra is a VFX supervisor and director. Harsh’s horror short The Last Ride won awards at the Cult Cinema Film Festival and Shankhnaad Film Festival earlier this year. 

In an exclusive interaction with Tellychakkar, Harsh Mishra spoke in detail about how important and relevant the biopic is and what the approach will be. 

Harsh Mishra said that he has been trying to make a biopic on Birju Maharaj ji since 2015. He once asked Birju Maharaj ji about his biopic, and he said he would definitely love to be a part of his own biopic, but unfortunately, in January 2020, Birju Maharaj ji passed away.

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Harsh also spoke about what Indian classical dance meant to the late Pandit Birju Maharaj. Harsh said "Birju Maharaj ji, when he was aged, was complaining  about his health issues like his hand and leg pain just before performing on the stage, but when he was on the stage, he was just performing effortlessly. And when I asked him how he managed to perform in this pain, Birju Maharaj ji said that when he is on stage, he gets some sort of blessing and his body moves automatically, which makes him forget all the pain and just go with the flow. This was his passion towards his art and Indian classical dance." Harsh wants to showcase this passion to the audience through his biopic. 

Harsh Mishra also said, "This biopic is very important because it will not only speak about the love and the passion of late Pandit Birju Maharaj ji towards Indian classical dance, but it will also definitely inspire millions of people who are passionate towards their work in their life. Birju Maharaj ji always wanted the next generation to know about the Indian classical dance as it is been forgotten by the them. He wants them to take this culture ahead."

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No doubt it is very important for the young generation to connect with the movie. On the approach, Harsh Mishra said, "His idea is to tell the story from the point of view of a well-known star from the young generation, with whom fans and the audience of this generation will connect."

Harsh Mishra added, "Indeed, this is a digital time, and we can see many web series are being made, but a biopic on the late Pandit Birju Maharaj should be a proper movie not a web series. Because I would like to give a big-scale tribute to him. His contribution has been immense to Indian classical art. The scale of the movie will not be limited to the national level, because there are many fans and followers of his beyond our borders.

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No doubt this generation needs to know the contribution of the late Pandit Birju Maharaj in the field of Indian classical music, and we look forward to the biopic. It will be written by Harsh Mohan Mishra and will be directed by Akash Barthwal along with Harsh Mohan Mishra. 

What are your views on this,and how excited are you for the biopic being made on the legend? Let us know in the comment section below. 

For more news from the entertainment industry, stay tuned to TellyChakkar.

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