About

Filmmaker & Bharatanatyam Dancer

Born to Mrs. Jaya & Dr. Ranganath Bharadwaj, an economist by profession and an actor, dramaturge, playwright and musicologist by passion; and brought up in Vijayaranga, Bangalore; stage, lights and make- up were never new to Akshara. With exposure to all varieties of fine arts and performing arts under one roof at 'The Structural School of Fine Arts’, she became a part of the artistic world, both by chance and by choice.

On graduating from the New York Film Academy, with a Masters degree in Direction & Filmmaking, she is also a Master's degree holder in Bharatanatyam from Tamil University and has earned the ‘Diploma in Advanced Bharatanatyam’ from The Structural School of Fine Arts.

Having initiated to Bharatanatyam by Vid. Shubha Dhananjay & Vid. Rohini Dhananjaya, she performed her Rangapravesh or Debut Solo Recital under Vid. Yogita Kulkarni. She is continuing her Bharatanatyam practice under the discipleship of Karnataka Kalashree - Guru. Minal Prabhu, while also learning Kathak from Vid. Lakshmi Pradeep.

A filmmaker, Bharatanatyam Dancer and a Theatre person; she has been trained in Carnatic Classical vocal music for a decade under Gurus, Vid. Ramamurthy, Late Vid. Geetha Rao and Vid. Nagaveni. She has dabbled in Odissi, Salsa, various Indian folk, contemporary and Freestyle dance forms through different workshops and programs. This lets her blend and integrate them in her choreography and theatre work beautifully.

Bharatanatyam & Theatre Faculty, The Structural School of Fine Arts
Director, Bharadwaj Foundation for the Arts
Secretary, Karnataka Haridasa Scientific Research Centre
Director, TarangaRanga monthly concert series
Visiting Faculty, Film Studies, Department of Design, PES University
Research Associate, Institute for Educational Research and Development
Examination Centre In-charge for SSFA, Akhila Bharatiya Gandharva Mahamandali