One of the many challenges that the Margam offers is that of role play. In a span of one and a half hours, the dancer has to traverse in and out of many characters, some of whom may even be outside the dancer's milieu. Therefore, the dancer has to strike a balance between her world and that of the composer. Not to forget, she also has to tackle the choreographer’s interpretation of the characters somewhere along the way.
In her recital, Sridevi T.M. managed to achieve this balance. She first essayed the role of a smitten nayika seeking the presence of her lover in ‘Ati Moham', a varnam in Sankarabharanam. Then, she portrayed an exasperated mother who attempts to ask her diffident daughter to go back to her husband's house despite the fight she has had with him in 'Ethanai Sonnalum', a padam in Saveri. Finally, she played a jubilant dancer and devotee in the thillana in Hamsanadam.
Each composition was given its due and Sridevi did justice to both the abhinaya and the nritta portions of her recital. However, one could easily pick the padam as the composition that brought out Sridevi’s calibre the best. It was in the padam that she achieved a perfect mediation between the poet’s, the choreographer’s and her own versions of the character. The young Sridevi portrayed the mother’s role with command. She was at once the loving mother and the wise confidante. In the various sancharis, she taught her daughter interesting strategies to deal with her anger and her husband.
The varnam, which preceded the padam was rendered tirelessly. The korvais intercepting the abhinaya were complete and true to tradition. Sridevi's abhinaya in the varnam brought the essence of the composition to the fore but it lacked depth in some parts.
In a fitting finale, the thillana was a short but beautifully choreographed piece. Sridevi maintained the mood of the composition.
Priya Murle, who rendered the nattuvangam for the recital kept a close watch on Sridevi's movements. Nandini Anand sang well while Dhananjayan on the mridangam and Dr. Vijayaraghavan on the violin were both impeccable in their roles.
