Veteran dancer, choreographer & actress Mamata Shankar turns 65

Kolkata: Veteran dancer, choreographer and actress Mamata Shankar on Tuesday turned 65. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wished her on the occasion.

"Happy birthday to Mamata Shankar, veteran dancer and choreographer," Ms Banerjee posted on her social networking page.Shankar was born on this day in 1955 to the dancers Uday Shankar and Amala Shankar.She was the niece of musician Pandit Ravi Shankar. Her brother, Ananda Shankar, was an Indo-Western fusion musician.

Shankar received her training in dance and choreography at the Uday Shankar India Culture Centre, Calcutta under Amala Shankar.

She is also known for her work in Bengali cinema. Shankar has acted in films by directors including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh.

Shankar made her film debut with Mrigayaa in 1976, directed by Mrinal Sen. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film for the year.

She runs the Udayan - Mamta Shankar Dance Company, which was founded in 1986, and which travels extensively throughout the world, with the 'Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe'. The troupe was founded in 1978, and performed its first production, based on a Rabindranath Tagore work, Chandalika, in 1979. It was followed by Horikhela, Aajker Ekalabya, Milap, Shikaar, Mother Earth, Amritasyaputra and Sabari.(UNI)