Samantha Akkineni, Ramya Krishnan, Shruti Haasan and Aishwarya Rajesh recreates Raja Ravi Varma's paintings.

Samantha shared a stunning picture of herself, recreating Varma’s painting of a woman holding a fruit. “Always the best working with you @venketramg... recreating Ravi Varma's work for NAAM. So glad I could be a part of this meaningful project .. Thankyou,” she wrote in the captions. 

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Always the best working with you @venketramg 🤗... recreating Ravi varmas work for NAAM. So glad I could be a part of this meaningful project .. Thankyou @suhasinihasan ...#naamct #gvenketram #gvenketramphotography M&H @sadhnasingh1 @koduruamarnath

A post shared by Samantha Akkineni (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) on Feb 3, 2020 at 8:37am PST

Ramya recreated Varma’s painting of Damayanti. Just like the original, Ramya is seen dressed in a red sari, talking to the swan who told her about King Nala’s love for her. “Recreating Ravi Varma work for NAAM ...feeling blessed thank you @suhasinihasan for this wonderful opportunity and @venketramg your the best.....glad to have been a part of this project,” she wrote with her picture.

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Recreating Ravi Varmas work for NAAM ...feeling blessed thank you @suhasinihasan for this wonderful opportunity and @venketramg your the best.....glad to have been a part of this project...#ravivarmacalendarlaunch2020 thank you @amritha.ram

A post shared by Ramya Krishnan (@meramyakrishnan) on Feb 3, 2020 at 10:08am PST

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Such an incredible experience shooting for this and such an honour to be associated with this cause !! Thankyou @suhasinihasan Akka for making me a part of something so memorable 🙏🏼 Hashtags - #naamct #gvenketram #gvenketramphotography Photography - @venketramg @suhasinihasan Post-production@disha.dee Calendar design: @padmajav Styling - @amritha.ram Makeup&Hair - Prakruthi @prakatwork

A post shared by @ shrutzhaasan on Feb 3, 2020 at 10:36am PST

Shruti Haasan recreated two paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. One is a lady by a river while another is the Rani of Kurupam. She is dressed in a purple sari for one and in a blue, ornate sari for another. “Such an incredible experience shooting for this and such an honor to be associated with this cause !! Thankyou @suhasinihasan Akka for making me a part of something so memorable,” she wrote with the pictures.

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Such an incredible experience shooting for this and such an honour to be associated with this cause !! Thankyou @suhasinihasan Akka for making me a part of something so memorable 🙏🏼 Hashtags - #naamct #gvenketram #gvenketramphotography Photography - @venketramg @suhasinihasan Post-production@disha.dee Calendar design: @padmajav Styling - @amritha.ram Makeup&Hair - Prakruthi @prakatwork

A post shared by @ shrutzhaasan on Feb 3, 2020 at 10:33am PST

Aishwarya Rajesh also posed for a picture. “It was a fantastic experience working with G Venket Ram (@venketramg) and Suhasini (@suhasinihasan) for recreating Ravi Varma project for NAAM. So glad I could participate in such a meaningful project,” she wrote. In her photo, she is seen sitting on a chair in a red sari, holding a small bouquet of roses.

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It was a fantastic experience working with G Venket Ram (@venketramg) and suhasini (@suhasinihasan) for recreating Ravi varma project for NAAM. So glad I could participate in such a meaningful project. gvenketram Credits: Photography - G Venket Ram @venketramg Naam Suhasini Maniratnam @suhasinihasan Post-production: Disha Shah @disha.dee Calendar design: Padmaja Venket Ram @padmajav Styling - Amritha Ram @amritha.ram Makeup&Hair - Prakruthi Ananth @prakatwork

A post shared by Aishwarya Rajessh (@aishwaryarajessh) on Feb 3, 2020 at 8:48am PST

The 12 women featured in the pictures are actors Khushbu, Shruti Haasan, Ramya Krishnan, Aishwarya Rajesh, Samantha Akkineni, Nadhiya, Lissy and dancers Priyadarshini Govind and Chamundeshwari.

Credits for the images:

Photography: G Venket Ram

Post-production: Disha Shah 

Styling: Amritha Ram

Make-up & Hair: Prakruthi Ananth

Calendar Design: Padmaja Venket Ram

Nadiya - This painting reflects the private lives of women from different social backgrounds

Khushbu - Portrait of a Maharashtrian lady after a temple visit

Shobana - ‘There comes papa’ portrait of Ravi Varma 's daughter Mahaprabha

Lissy Lakshmi - Portrait of a royal woman from Kerala inspired by Ravi Varma 's style

Lakshmi Manchu - Portrait of Rani Chimnabai 1 after whom Lakshmi Vilas palace in Tanjore is named.

Chamundeswari - Portrait of Maharani Lakshmi Bayi who became the senior rani of Travancore

Priyadarshini Govind - Kadambari, Portrait of a modern, intellectual Bengali lady

The calendar was launched on Monday with a night of music and poetry. It was released in celebration of Naam Charitable Trust, which completed a decade of work in women empowerment. Talking about the photographs, Ram told Times of India, “I have always admired the lighting in the paintings of great masters and loved recreating the ethereal lighting in Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings. We have worked hard to bring the images as close to the originals as possible, in terms of the styling, costumes, jewelry, and props used.”