Actress stars in ‘Antaram’ along with 3 classical dance experts What happens when three reputed danseuses and one veteran actress come together on stage? Antaram, a unique dance-cum-play presentation held in Chennai recently proved to be an enchanting show, transporting viewers to an ancient era through stories of four strong women: Andal, Kannagi, Vasavi and Rambha, who dared to defy the norms of that age. Bharatanatyam exponent Krithika Subramanian brought to memory the saga of Andal, who was born Kodhai, a playful girl in love with Lord Vishnu. It is her devotion to the Lord that makes her immortal as Andal, the deity of Srivilluputhur. Noted Mohiniaatam artist, Gopika Varma, told the story of Kannagi through her dance. Kannagi is revered today in Kerala as Aattukkal Bhagavathi. Yamini Reddy narrated through Kuchipudi dance, the story of Vasavi of Telengana, who prefers death to escape the advances of a lecherous king. What made the presentation engaging was Suhasini Maniratnam in different roles. Maniratnam, who has scripted the presentation, took on several characters with the ease of a veteran — that of an air hostess Amrita Ahluwalia who rescues a child bride from her old husband, and a Brahmin grandmother in conversation with her grandchild. Preceding every dance story, Maniratnam explained its significance in simple layman terms, making the understanding of the ensuing dance easy. Maniratnam wrapped up the evening with Rambha, another bold woman from the past, a scholar-dancer from Kandy, (Sri Lanka) who becomes the beloved of Emperor Md. Adil Shah of Bijapur. Rambha gave up her life as proof of her immense love for the Nawab. The Gol Gumbaz stands as a testament to her love today. Enriching the performances of the show was the excellent technical props and great music compositions by O.S. Arun, A.R. Rahman and Rajkumar Bharti. Antaram, an interesting collage of dance, theatre, music and technology celebrates womanhood and feminine power. This unique show has been produced jointly by Krithika Subramnian’s Namaargam Dance Company and Maniratnam’s Talent South, a new celebrity management company. Maniratnam said: “We will be performing in Kuwait on May 15 and also looking at doing more perfomances in other middle-east countries.”