A human tale of motherly love and step-motherly pettiness, mixed motives and shrewd manipulations, movement of queenly poise that cannot conceal an undertow of unease, Rohini Banerjee’s work-in-progress, Kaikeyi, live-streamed recently, is astonishingly layered. Choreographically, it is riveting for the inventive articulation of the body and the powerful dynamics of facial expression. A part of the project, Pratiroop — a unique mentorship programme where senior practitioners from various classical dance styles are mentored by gurus from different classical forms — the work is about stepping outside the performer’s comfort zone and coming up with an individual idiom.

Guided by Mohiniattam exponent, Neena Prasad, Banerjee dips into a personal reading of the Ramayana. Her Kaikeyi is an enquiry into a much-maligned character who emerges in this piece as a scapegoat with little agency. She is beleaguered by dilemma, grief and anguish as she grieves in apprehension for the catastrophe she has wrought. She persuades the audience to empathize with her vulnerability even though the queen of Ayodhya is hardly a straight-up figure of pity. The handling of the material is complex enough to warrant repeated viewings.