The wall on the passage that leads to her living room is full of awards and certificates that stand testimony to her achievements. She is the recipient of Gorkha Dakshin Bahu, Siksha Padak, First Television Actress Award among many other honors. But if there’s one thing that has propelled Sharma to stardom, it’s her determination. With more than hundred movies and countless numbers of serials and stage shows to her credit, she has carved her niche in field of dance and acting.[break]
Bhashwor Ojh
Her first ever on screen acting stint was for three minutes in a small role in the movie ‘Biswas’ where she is seen working with students in a school. It was Bimala Rai’s song “Bachi bhancha baba” with music by Gopal Yonjan. “I’m hardly there for three minutes in the three hour movie but it was a fascinating experience,” she says.
For the small amount of time that she has been captured in the movie, she was able to grasp the attention of viewers who loved her and wanted to see more. The positive response brought her more film offers and Sharma was here to stay.
Born and brought up in Kathmandu, her childhood was unlike that of any other normal child. When most of her friends were busy playing, she was always engrossed in dancing.
"I was chubby and weak so it was difficult for me to perform on stage. I had to put in lot of effort to hone my skills but I never took that as a burden and I picked up," she says. In fact, the constant practice to perfect her moves, gradually improved her performance
She reminisces her first ever dance show on stage at the tender age of nine. She was selected as a panchakanya by her teacher to perform at the birthday celebration of then King Birendra. Since then and till now, Sharma has been a regular performer on stage and she has two shows lined up for the coming week as well.
She accredits her first guru Raj Pal Thapa for introducing new skills of dancing to her. “My other gurus Kalyan Sherchan, Chetra Gurung and few others have always been there since my early days to guide me,” she says.
Since childhood days, she also spent most of her time listening to Gopal Yonjan’s music and takes him an as inspiration. “Gopal dai has written a lot of songs among which ban ki chari and makamali cholo were dedicated to me,” she says.
She also holds a diploma in dancing but her romance with dance started off with the training of folk and classical dancing. She explains that classical dancing needs a lot of patience and a strong interest and she has also trained herself in bhav nrtiya which requires a classical base and is a form of dance where a subject is presented through gestures and facial expressions.
Her specialty lies in the fact that she can perform bhav nritya in any folk song of Nepal, be it of slow beat or fast rhythm. Since two years she is specially trained to dance in Sudupaschim´s thadi bhaka which doesn’t have any rhythm.
Since expressions are synonym to acting and being an expert in bhav nrtiya, Sharma tried her hands in acting as well. The person who introduced her to on screen was director Chetan Karki.
Many people are not aware that she started her first stage acting through a comedy drama of Hada and Pal, the first Nepali comedy duo including Raj Pal Thapa and Druba Hada.
“I wasn’t very shy so I got the role and many people find it hard to believe that I started with comedy,” she says.
As Sharma walks down the memory lane, there’s a spark in her eyes as she has so many fond memories to share. From comedy drama she slowly shifted to Radio dramas and she has been part of lots of television serials like Ama Ko Asa, Ama Banera Hera, Naya Bihani to name a few.
But hers is not an overnight success story. Dancing and acting didn’t just start out as a hobby for Sharma. After her parents passed away when she was just a child, she started working to bring in some money to support her family.
Her elder sister Madhurika Sharma has been an integral part of her life as a guardian. They both suffered the loss of their parents but were there for each other through thick and thin. She accredits her sister for nurturing her and looks up to her not only as a guide and a mentor but a friend.
Due to her dancing skills, she earned a lot of medals and she got to study with scholarship. “Firstly getting scholarships was important to me. It might have been an obligation that brought me closer to dance but it has also been my passion ever since,” she shares.
Being a professional dancer, Sharma earlier was offered numerous item songs as well but she rejected them all without second thoughts. A graceful dancer who maintains her classiness, she never opted to take dance casually as it was something very special to her and she has always been very selective. Dance was a main priority on stage while on screen her main preference has always been acting.
Juggling her time for shootings and her work as an academician at Academy of Music and drama, she also indulges in writing. She has written a teacher’s guide, wrote about her experiences and contemporary issues and musical dramas and lyrics.
Talking about her upcoming movie Uma where she plays the role of Uma’s mother, she expresses that she has high expectations from the movie which is releasing soon. “Uma is based on real events. Nothing can be successful when you run away from society and the movie is an account of a time during civil war and Uma is an effect left by that time.”
Working in movies however was a whole different experience for her. “In films, fifty percent of the work is dependent on technical support, but when you are on stage, your whole body language speaks for itself and major percentage is dependent on the actors, apart from the lights and musical background,” she explains.
She also has been working outside the capital to promote culture and in the first week of June she’s leaving for Rolpa to provide teachers training as well. “We are teaching music and dance therapy to teachers as it can act very effective to educate and change student’s behavior in a positive way through dance,” she explains.
Her friends even used to tell her that she is limiting herself and not grabbing as many opportunities as she should. But now when she looks back, she thinks that everything happened for the best. “If I ever took a shortcut to success, then I would have disappeared somewhere in between,” she asserts.
Sharma’s day usually ends around 9 pm when she is finally done with her day’s hectic schedule. But she always buys time to spend with her family and her sister’s daughters Jaya and Bijaya who are like her own daughters.
Dancing is a form of mediation for Sharma who begins her day with her dance practice. She then heads off to teach dance to the students of St. Mary’s High School from 8 am and teaches thrice a week at Gems school as well among the numerous other projects that she engages in. “My students are also my inspiration because they keep me up to date,” she says.
“I still have to learn a lot as learning is an ongoing process,” continues the modest lady who believes that dance is in reality her life. “Dance for me is not just a form of entertainment but it is my identity.”
nistha.rayamajhi11@gmail.com
Related story
Promoting Mithila Art
