These days, many schools offer dance and music as part of their curriculum and this is more of a trend in international schools where they charge a bomb. However, if one can recall the trend till mid 2000s it was completely different. Now every kid aspires to be a social media icon with dance and music and there are very few those who have a passion towards traditional arts and music. Many of them practice it for name sake and this is how the generation is currently.
Right from the 80s to mid 2000s, an entire generation of kids was quite busy in their evenings and weekends indulging in classical music and dance forms. A large part of the credit, though not necessarily entirely, the credit goes to K. Vishwanath garu, the ace director and thespian who has now become immortal, after his death.
Many doyens inspired our youngsters but in Telugu states, it was because of his movies that parents decided to send their wards for dance and music training right from a young age. Most of his films were based on the theme of soulful dance and music and even leading commercial stars took up such unique roles whenever they had to act in his movies.
Right from Saptapadi, Sirisiri Muvva, Shankara Bharanam, Saagara Sangamam to Sruthilayalu, Aapadbhandavudu, Swarna Kamalam, Swati Kiranam and many more, every film had music and dance in the backdrop. Such were the impact of his films that even commercial directors simply applauded his contributions to the film industry keeping aside their ego.
Parents dreamt of seeing their children become exponents in classical music and traditional dance forms. Music and dance tuitions sprouted everywhere providing livelihood to underpaid teachers. It was a great physical and mental relaxation for a whole generation of children who reveled in the beautiful spirit of our traditions. We owe a lot to him and his creative genius and also for making such films click at the box office while also creating a lasting impact in our society.
