Toronto Desi Diaries

This doctor’s journey into arts has only pleasant side effects

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Mississauga native Dr. Amitha Mundenchira pursued a career in medicine, but realized she received all health benefits only when she embraced dance and the arts. Supplied photo.

Mississauga native Dr. Amitha Mundenchira pursued a career in medicine, but realized she received all health benefits only when she embraced dance and the arts.
Supplied photo.

Even though Dr. Amitha Mundenchira, 36, dutifully walked the path envisioned by her parents to pursue a career in medicine, there was never a doubt in her mind about her true calling.

Except of course, in this case, turns out she had more than one.

Mundenchira’s physical and emotional journey was initially fraught with self-doubts and awkwardness, but once she found dance, it became a spiritual calling.

“I rediscovered my passion for arts through dance,” she said. “It’s almost as if I rediscovered myself in the process. Dance was another form of exercise, but because it was Bollywood dancing, I found myself completely immersed into it.”

Mundenchira’s story is one of inspiration and courage. Anyone that’s afraid to chase their dreams should take a leaf or two from her life. Let me retrace and start at the beginning.

Once upon a time, there was a studious girl who buried her face—and identity— in towers of bulky textbooks.  She completed the grueling demands of medical school with a single-minded focus and became a family physician.

Whenever she was stressed or emotionally drained, she found comfort in food. As a result, the girl was not only overweight, but she was weighed down by the monotony of her life.

And so life continued, Day after day as she sat doling advice to her patients about healthy living, she realized, it was hypocritical of her to tell them to practice what she told them to and not do it herself.

So, one day, on the lark, she signed-up for a Bollywood dance class, purged oily food from her diet and plunged headlong into a new territory. Slowly, the pounds began to fall, as did her awkwardness. It wasn’t long before offers for modeling; acting and dance performances came her way.

“Through dancing, I found a whole new world,” said a radiant Mundenchira. “I found I could de-stress through dance. Dance also helped me with my self-esteem issues. I realized could express through dance, anger, happiness or whatever other emotions I was experiencing.”

Dr. Amitha Mudenchira's the vivacious host of popular television show Hooray Bollywood on Zee TV. Supplied photo

Dr. Amitha Mudenchira’s the vivacious host of popular television show Hooray Bollywood on Zee TV.
Supplied photo

As an accomplished dancer/singer/actor/writer/television host (Hooray Bollywood) and artist currently conceptualizing a one-of-its-kind television show that will blend the therapeutic uses of arts and connect it to science, Mundenchira admits to finally finding her place under the sun.

“We are all here on the earth for a purpose,” she said. “It’s not about competing with others but finding your spot. After experiencing and enjoying various dance forms, I have come to the realization that medicine is not the only thing I want to do. I want to eventually fuse medicine and arts in some way.

All her artistic endeavours now have an underlying social message, a reason why she’s an integral part of organizations such as Divine Heritage Artistry, Sanskriti Arts Dance + Fitness studio and Limitless Productions.

Once she mastered Bollywood dancing, the Mississauga resident studied hip-hop, jazz and contemporary styles. Then she turned her sight on classical dance and music. Mundenchira remains unfazed by the fact that because of her rather late start in pursuit of dance, she now has to learn the basics of it alongside eight and nine year-olds.

“Ultimately, it’s not about dancing,” she said. “It’s about being myself through dance. I went from a person with low self-esteem who looked at everything negatively to a person who’s always trying to look for something good in every situation. That happened because of the self-enrichment.”

You can follow Mundenchira through her artistic profile.

Dr. Amitha Mundenchira's physical and spiritual transformation came about when she discovered dance. Today, she's an accomplished singer, dancer, TV host, family physician and writer. Supplied photo.

Dr. Amitha Mundenchira’s physical and spiritual transformation came about when she discovered dance. Today, she’s an accomplished singer, dancer, actor, TV host, family physician and writer.
Supplied photo.

Bringing the glitz of Bollywood to Toronto

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Vaibhav Parashar (in the middle) seen here with two of Bollywood's superstars - Priyanka Chopra (left) and Shah Rukh Khan during the Indian International Film Academy Awards (IIFA).

Vaibhav Parashar (in the middle) seen here with two of Bollywood’s superstars – Priyanka Chopra (left) and Shah Rukh Khan during the Indian International Film Academy Awards (IIFA).

For people unaware of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, aka ‘King Khan,’ is an actor currently perched on the pinnacle of the film industry’s complex food chain.

Here in North America, his movies—even the unimaginative and tepid ones— run to packed houses. An appearance by Khan in your neck of woods will likely create a stampede or frenzy never witnessed before.

So, if you tell a desi anywhere on the earth, you danced with Shah Rukh, Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and a whole bevy of stars from Bollywood, they will be likely swoon in your presence.

Vaibhav Parashar, 32, a choreographer/ theatre professional living here in the GTA has worked with the virtual Who’s Who of the Indian film industry, but is disinclined to name drop because he doesn’t want to piggy-back ride on their fame. He wants to be his own person. Fair enough.

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Vaibhav Parashar, a GTA dance and theatre professional seen here with well-known Bollywood actress Divya Dutta.

Parashar started his artistic journey as a theatre professional with a premiere   organization— National School of Drama (NSD)— in New Delhi. After working in some 75 plays, he set forth for the glamorous lights of Mumbai aka Bollywood Central and landed in the dance studios of Shiamak Davar, a leading choreographer, under whose tutelage Parashar was able to hone on his dance IQ. For next 10 years, Parashar remained with the school as a dance instructor helping hundreds of South Asians—both in India and across GTA— to connect with the insanely popular Bollywood-style of dance.

At present though, he’s making films that matter plus hoping to capitalize on the insatiable appetite for Bollywood among the desis of the North America through his just-launched event management company—Yaar (friend in Hindi) Entertainment.

“I always try to tell the story—whether it’s dance, choreography or filmmaking — by visualizing it from the audience’s perspective,” he said. “This is something I learned from my guru Shiamak who always taught us to anticipate the reaction of the crowd.”

As a filmmaker/dancer/choreographer/actor and producer, he says he has learned his craft through osmosis. He says he’s equally at home behind the camera, just as he’s on the stage moving to the pulsating rhythm of music.

Having tasted first hand the magic of films, he now wants to wow the audience with a mega Bollywood musical that will incorporate powerful elements of dance and music by weaving it within a story. A genre that’s as comforting to Parashar as water is to a duck.

“My ultimate dream is to create a Bollywood in Canada,” he said. “There’s so much talent here in this country, but unfortunately, most people don’t have the capability to go to India. Through my company, I want to create an extensive database of artists —singers, dancers, musicians and actors — so if someone is looking at anything and anybody to do with the Indian arts, they should be able to find all the resources in a single place.”

Parashar credits his training in theatre for enhancing his artistic intellect. He figures he has a fair idea of what will work in terms of dance and storyline.

“Bollywood connects us to our culture,” Parashar said. “Bollywood teaches Hindi to our kids, it’s teaches them our customs and traditions. In my opinion, Bollywood has assumed the role of a teacher for the younger generation of children living here in Canada.”

After a decade-long successful stint as a dancer/choreographer, Vaibhav Parasher, has taken to a new role as a director, producer and writer. He's one of GTA's rising stars. Supplied photo

After a decade-long successful stint as a dancer/choreographer, Vaibhav Parasher, has taken to a new role as a director, producer and writer. He’s one of GTA’s rising stars.
Supplied photo

Within the next year of two, Parashar vows he will be a well-known name here in Toronto. When it comes to selling dreams of Bollywood, this merchant knows his stuff.

The dilemma of protecting our daughters and sons in the digital age

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Anusree Roy as Malini and Andrew Lawrie as Sharan in Anupama Chandrasekhar's Free Outgoing, which played at Toronto's Factory Theatre. Photo by John Lauener.

Anusree Roy as Malini and Andrew Lawrie as Sharan in Anupama Chandrasekhar’s Free Outgoing, which played at Toronto’s Factory Theatre recently. Photo by John Lauener.

On a recent Sunday, as I watched the plot of Anupama Chandrasekhar’s play Free Outgoing unfold in front of my eyes, I couldn’t but help shudder at the “what ifs”.

As a super cautious user of social media, all my actions are governed by the sobering thought that this seemingly innocuous technology has wrecked lives, ruined careers and even helped usher in a revolution or two in some parts of the world.

Free Outgoing is a wake-up call to parents of all teenagers. The 90-minute saga aptly exposed the double standards of a society that has no qualms whatsoever about verbally and psychologically lynching a young girl for her naive curiosity, while the boy, who I felt was equally culpable, went scot-free.

Here’s a bit of a background on the play’s genesis. In 2004, two students from a public school in New Delhi, India, filmed themselves having sex. The video of their act went viral. It wasn’t long before all major newspapers and television networks decided to cash in. The (multimedia messaging system) MMS scandal as it came to be known, fed the baser instincts of an entire nation and kept them riveted. At every opportunity, the so-called moral gatekeepers of Indian society chimed in with their viciousness. They ostracized and condemned the young girl and her family. For weeks, the girl’s family sat trapped in their apartment because an angry mob and a ruthless media stalked them.

A year later, Indian society’s blatant hypocrisy came to the surface yet again, when a well-known Indian actress (Khushboo) penned a newspaper column in which she urged all folks, including unmarried women, to practice safe sex. In Chennai, a city in India, steeped in so-called traditional values, Khushboo’s words caused a moral tsunami.

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Anusree Roy and Ash Knight in Anupama Chandrasekhar’s Free Outgoing. The play exposed the sexual hypocrisy of Indian society. Photo by John Lauener.

Chandrasekhar, a business reporter from Chennai channelized her indignation into crafting a compelling play that exposes the sexual hypocrisy of Indian society.

“Free Outgoing was very loosely inspired by the two much reported incidents in India that outraged me,” explains Chandrasekhar, in the playwright’s notes. “It became quite evident that in cases where a girl/women’s sexuality is under social scrutiny, the penalty she and her family have to pay is quite out of proportion to the act committed.”

Kelly Thornton, artistic director, Nightwood Theatre—who directed the play here in Toronto — said she heard of Free Outgoing in 2007 when it premiered in London’s Royal Court Theatre. The theme connected with her on many levels.

“The world of the play sits on the precipice of technological blast off where now Twitter, Instagram, smart phones and sexting are much more than just part of our vernacular,” said Thornton. “We have created a world where lives can be changed overnight. Indeed technology is the great colonizer of our time, changing societies so rapidly that its effects are still relatively unknown. In many ways, it’s still a wild frontier…”

What disturbs me as a media professional and a mother is that success of any social media endeavor these days is gauged on an odd barometer—whether the image or idea went viral or not. The danger of this is, some important messages get diluted or are not heard because they did not feature a cat playing a piano.

Free Outgoing’s relevance, I realized is not limited to India, its central theme will eerily resonate with Canadians as well. Remember, Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old who took her life after being raped, then bullied on the Internet? What about Amanda Todd? Amanda, 15, committed suicide in her Port Coquitlam home because of the bullying she endured online after a topless picture of her was shared via social media.

I believe Free Outgoing should be shown in schools and other educational institutions as a public service message, because god knows, our children are oblivious to the danger of social media.

In my next blog, I will feature an interview with Anusree Roy, who played the lead role of the mother (Malini Haridas) in Free Outgoing. Stay tuned.