Kalpana is definitely a masterpiece of Indian cinema and it is almost impossible to categorise. It has remained a model for even the most discerning of filmmakers. Till date Kalpana (Imagination) is the only film ever made by the legendary modern Indian dancer and choreographer, Late Uday Shankar. It is in every sense of the word an "art" film, a director`s film, which attempted and succeeded in achieving the total symbiosis of voice, dance and music four years in the making. The film was made in Hindi in the year 1948 but was shot at the Gemini Studios in Madras.

Kalpana is a musical metaphor, which is danced, based on a scenario, which is only a pretext-the refusal by a producer to accept the scenario of a young scenario. Kalpana, for the first time, introduced the concept of Arts for Arts sake in films. It was unprecedented in the film history, as no one had ever before made a film for the sake of creativity. In many ways it opened several avenues for the filmmakers. The choreography of the film has especially been conceived for the camera. The film was hailed for a number of things: the audacity in the use of lightning, the sets and the camera movement. Certainly the scenes of works on assembly lines and in the fields, which have been expressed in dance, in a semi-expressionist style and the effects on the light and darkness, are of a startling beauty.

In this metaphor of dreams founded in a newly independent country, the world saw a successful synthesis of Indian modernity and of the art of cinema. This splendid and ambitious film was a total contrast what was being made in India at that time.