New Delhi, Mar 29: Noted classical dance exponent Leela Samson will be the next chief of the film censor board. Samson, a bharatnatyam dancer, will succeed actor Sharmila Tagore, a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting official said.
Tagore, who has been heading the censor board from 2004, ends her tenure on March 31, he said, adding that the announcement will be made soon.
Samson is among India's most dynamic and technically brilliant dancers, an outstanding representative of Kalakshetra, the famed institute for the classical arts founded by the late Rukmini Devi Arundale on the Chennai ocean front.
Samson joined Kalakshetra as a young child and her formative years were spent in imbibing the nuances of Bharatnatyam and related arts at the feet of celebrated gurus.
Among the many honours conferred on her, she was awarded the prestigious Padmashri in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the art of Bharatanatyam as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award instituted by the apex cultural body of the Government of India.
Samson is also the chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. PTI
