23 Facts About Leela Samson

Leela Samson was born on 6 May 1951 and is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India.

Leela Samson was appointed as the director of Kalakshetra by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in April 2005.

Leela Samson was appointed as the chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in August 2010 and as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification in April 2011.

Leela Samson resigned from her position as director of Kalakshetra in 2012.

Leela Samson resigned from her position as chairperson of the CBFC after the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal overturned her attempt to ban the film MSG: The Messenger of God featuring Dera Sacha Sauda founder Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a lead role and gave it clearance.

Leela Samson made her film acting debut in 2015 through the Tamil film, OK Kanmani directed by Mani Ratnam.

Leela Samson reprised her role in the film's Hindi remake, OK Jaanu.

Leela Samson appeared in Adithya Varma and Putham Pudhu Kaalai.

Leela Samson's father belonged to the Jewish Bene-Israelite community from Pune, and her mother belonged to the Gujarati Roman Catholic community from Ahmedabad.

Leela Samson's father joined the Royal Indian Navy in 1939 and rose to command in the Indian Fleet in 1964.

Leela Samson served as Commandant of the National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla between 1959 and 1962.

When Leela Samson was nine years of age, her father sent her to Kalakshetra to learn Indian classical dance and music under the founder, Rukmini Devi Arundale and she studied in the Besant Theosophical High School at the same time.

In 1995, Leela Samson formed Spanda, a dance group to review the traditional vocabulary of Bharatanatyam.

Leela Samson has taught and mentored performers including the late Kamaljit Bhasin Maalik, Jin Shan Shan, Navtej Singh Johar and Anusha Subramanyam.

Leela Samson has taught Bharatanatyam across the world, including at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and the annual Milapfest in Manchester.

Leela Samson has received the Padma Shri, the Sanskriti, Nritya Choodamani, Kalaimamani given by Government of Tamil Nadu, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for contributions to Bharatanatyam.

Leela Samson was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress-Tamil at the 63rd Filmfare Awards South.

Leela Samson is known for her proximity to the Nehru-Gandhi of the Indian National Congress, as she was the dance tutor of Priyanka Vadra.

Leela Samson held six key positions in the 10 years of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.

Leela Samson is ex-officio head of the south zone cultural centre.

Leela Samson, who was once Priyanka Gandhi's dance teacher, has no particular connection with the world of cinema.

Leela Samson was criticised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad when she passed the 2014 Aamir Khan-starrer movie PK without any cuts, even after two board members resigned after it was granted certification, due to content allegedly designed to ridicule Hindu religious philosophy and hurt Hindu sentiments.

Veteran Bollywood actor and a former chairperson of the censor board Anupam Kher criticised Leela Samson for playing politics by making partisan allegations while tendering her resignation.