Indian actresses who dance for love of Odissi!

Bhubaneswar: Odissi conjures up an image of deft foot works and graceful movements that has drawn several actresses to the classical form. Here are some well-known faces of the silver screen and television soaps, who have trained in Odissi.

1. Shubhangi Atre- Popularly known as 'Angoori Bhabhi' in an entertainment TV show Bhabhi Ji Ghar par hai, Shubhangi Atre is a trained Odissi dancer. Another lesser known fact about Shubhangi is that she was Miss Madhya Pradesh in 2003.

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2. Esha Deol-  Bollywood actress and dream girl Hema Malini's daughter, Esha, learned Odissi for her interest in classical dance. The Bollywood actress trained  under Mumbai-based guru Rabindra Atibuddhi.

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3. Rani Mukherjee- She is popular for her acting skills but who knew she is trained in Odissi too? She started learning the dance form from 10th grade.

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4. Shilpa Shetty- This Bolly diva famous for her grooves and moves, also trained in Odissi for her movie 'The Desire'. Shilpa was trained by Odissi guru Ratikant Mohapatra for the Indo-Chinese film, in which she essayed the role of Goutami, a celebrated Odissi dancer.

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5. Deepika Singh - Telly actress, better known as 'Sandhya' in the daily soap Diya aur Baati earlier aired on Star Plus, trained in Odissi for a few years and debuted as an Odissi dancer at an award function.

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6. Gracy Singh- Bollywood actress, well-known for her role of 'Gauri' in Lagaan, is a Bharatnatyam and Odissi dancer.

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7. Bhavna Pani- Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar actress and model, Bhavna Pani, is trained in Odissi under the tutelage of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She is also a trained Kathak dancer. 
8. Nandini Ghosal- She has acted in many Hindi, Bengali, and Malayali feature films and in TV shows like 'Mantramugdh' aired on Doordarshan, National. She is trained in Odissi and is also a senior disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.

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9. Meenakshi Seshadri- Popular Indian model and actress, Meenakshi, is currently running a dance school in Dallas, 'Cherish Institute of Dance' where she teaches Odissi, Bharatnatyam, and Kathak. Born into a Tamil family, she is trained in four classical dances of India - Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, and Odissi.

Picture courtesy: www.chitramala.in

10. Koel Mallick- A well-known actress from Bengal, Koel Mallick, is trained in Odissi under Sudha Dutta. She started learning the classical dance form at the age of 5.

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