Sanhiti's Endrendrum Kadhal - Portrayal of love that transcends time

Sanhiti hosted their annual production "Endrendrum Kadhal"(Forever love) on Sep 25 and 26, 2010 at the Woodside high school auditorium at Woodside, CA. This was a charity show for a well known non-profit organization called Udhavum Karangal. Its no surprise that they helped sponsor over 100 kids from these 2 shows and its a great achievement in itself.

The show itself started off with a grandeur enactment of a battlefield which depicted the loss of a king in the battle who was also a true romantic. The emotions in the battlefield and thereafter made one wonder if they were transported to that era. The artists portrayed their acts amazingly well and were flawless in their delivery. This set the expectations for the coming acts at a very high level and challenged them to live up to it. The production design for this act was equally majestic and literally stole the show.

The show was divided into 4 different acts and each one depicted a separate story of love. This concept was new and has been attempted for the first time by Sanhitians. A valiant effort and a job well done.

Acts 2, 3 and 4 were more contemporary in style and jolted the audience back to their seats reminding them that they were in 2010 and not in 1020. I felt that the transition between acts 1 and 2 could have been more smooth with Act 2 portraying the love of the 18th and 19th century. Act 3 could be the present day state of affairs(figuratively) and Act 4 could have been a really wild imagination of how it would be in the future. That was the critic in me peeking its head out.

Some really creative bits that impressed me were the following:

1. The railway station backdrop was so real and was so apt for the song.

2. I loved the way how Hosana song was choreographed with the song set in a railway station and the reverse gear half way through. Creative thinking. I am not sure how many in the audience got the (not so) subtle humor on AT&T. Nicely done.

3. The 2 guys dancing on a pole bit was just awesome. Again, creativity at its best.

4. The sets for Act 1 and Act 3 were captivating and shared the top spots among the 4 acts.

5. Portraying of Kamal Haasan in Devi-Sridevi song was done brilliantly. Nice homework. The trolley effect was also well thought of.

6. The voice-over was nicely done. I loved this format since it blended well with the songs and the theme. Did not miss the skit, surprisingly.

7. And finally all dancers did a fantastic job. Months of practice showed on the stage and it was a feast to watch so much so that my 2 year old was glued to my lap for the entire show, except for the speech bits(This has never happened before).

All in all, it was a great production for a wonderful cause. Wish they would do this as a road show in different cities like a broadway production. I am sure that day is not far away.