JMM activists raise funds at Sonari in Jamshedpur for tsunami victims. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Ranchi, Dec. 30: A 27-year-old from the capital has danced his way into Hema Malini?s good books.

Vipul Kumar, a talented kathak dancer, is the only performer from the state to be selected for Rati Kamdev, a dance drama being choreographed by Hema Malini. Vipul was chosen from among 20 hopefuls from all over the country in an audition conducted by the actress and dancer at New Delhi on September 30th. Two other girls (one from Tamil Nadu and another from Karnataka) also made it into the production.

The dance drama is scheduled to be staged at Ahmedabad and Mumbai in April and May next year.

A visibly thrilled Vipul recalls the pre-audition pangs: ?Initially, I was very nervous but once I took the stage to perform my piece I started feeling confident. I was selected in one take. Hema Malini even complimented me for my performance.?

Though this is a dream come true, Vipul is no stranger to the arclights. He recently performed a kathak ?item number? in a Bhojpuri film, Nahir Hutal Jaya, directed by actress and kathak dancer Padma Khanna. ?She saw my dance performance in E-TV, Bihar, and approached me. I listened to the song of the film and I liked it. Since then, I have been flooded with offers for Nagpuri films but they are not my cup of tea,? he says.

Vipul started learning kathak at the age of 10 under the tutelage of Pandit Jagarnath Tripathi of the Benaras gharana. ?I come from a Bengali background and my entire family was inclined towards the classical dance and song. Modern songs and dance styles never caught my fancy,? the youngster adds.

Vipu; completed a six-year course and a two-year post-graduate diploma in kathak. ?I have performed in countries like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia under the youth exchange programme organised by the YMCA,? Vipul says. He also took part in Bharat Mahotsav held in Mauritius in 1995 where he presented a Bhojpuri ballad, Sitlamata.

Success, however, has not gone to the youngster?s head. Vipul is associated with Deepshika, an institution working for the mentally-challenged. ?I teach dance skills to the children there,? says Vipul.

If there is something he misses in the capital, it is an appreciative audience. Vipul rues the fact that people of Ranchi are are yet to develop a taste for classical dance and music. ?Hence, whenever I give perform here, I try to mix kathak with folk dance to make it more appealing to the local audiences.?