What Is Gaja Gamini Walk Performed By Aditi Rao Hydari In Heeramandi?

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi premiered on Netflix on May 1, impressing audiences with its portrayal of cultural heritage through dance, costumes, and music. Among the standout moments is Aditi Rao Hydari’s stunning Gaja Gamini walk, now known as the Swan Walk, which has become a sensation on social media.

What is the Gaja Gamini walk?

The Kamasutra associates elephants with "unrestrained raw sexual power," considering female elephants or hastinis to be the most lustful and vulgar in their demeanour. The Gaja Gamini walk is also referenced in the Mahabharata, where queens like Draupadi were described as Mada-gaja-gamini, indicating women who walked like cow-elephants in a rut. In essence, this walk symbolises a large, voluptuous, yet graceful woman, inspired by the swaying hips of an elephant, and has been a muse for various artists and poets, including MF Husain.

When MF Husain immortalised the Gaja Gamini walk

MF Husain, renowned painter turned filmmaker, immortalised the Gaja Gamini walk in his film Gaja Gamini (2000) starring Madhuri Dixit. Husain explained his fascination with Madhuri Dixit, considering her the epitome of Indian womanhood. "A couple of years ago, when I was in hospital, I thought of making a film on Madhuri Dixit. I have been painting her in different ways, trying to depict her as the essence of Indian womanhood and of the many manifestations of womanhood. So, rather than painting her, I thought let me try doing the same thing in some other medium," MF Husain had said in an interview. However, the seductive walk was also performed by late actor Madhubala in Mughal-E-Azam in the song Mohe Panghat Pe.

Since the release of Heeramandi, discussions around the Gaja Gamini walk have flooded social media, with audiences praising Hydari’s performance. The series, featuring an ensemble cast including Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal, and Aditi Rao Hydari, is now available for streaming on Netflix.