Pandit Mallikarjun Bheemaraayappa Mansur, was a Hindustani classical singer from Karnataka. He sang in the khyal genre and belonged to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.
Bansi Kaul was an Indian theatre director and the founder of Rang Vidushak, a theatre group in Bhopal. He was a recipient of the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 2014, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995. Some of his notable plays included Aala Afsar, Kahan Kabir, and Sidhi Dar Sidhi urf Tukke pe Tukka. He was a designer and associate show director for the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and also the art director for the 1986 and 1987 Khajuraho Festival.
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, popularly known as Ariyakudi, was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of singing which came to be known as The Ariyakudi Tradition and is followed by his students. He is credited with establishing the modern katcheri (concert) traditions in Carnatic music.
Babukodi Venkataramana Karanth widely known as B. V. Karanth was an Indian film director, playwright, actor, screenwriter, composer, and dramatist known for his works in the Kannada theatre, Kannada cinema, and Hindi cinema. One of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema, Karanth was an alumnus of the National School of Drama (1962) and later, its Director. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1976), six National Film Awards, and the civilian honor Padma Shri for his contributions towards the field of art.
Lalgudi Gopala Jayaraman was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2001.
Prasanna, is a major Indian theatre director and playwright from Karnataka. He is one of the pioneers of modern Kannada theatre. He graduated from the National School of Drama (NSD). He founded Samudaya and gave a creative direction to Kannada theatre in the 1970s with other activists. Prasanna lives in Heggodu in Karnataka. He is known for his organisational skills and new ideas and innovations in theatre. He is a Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee. He has directed plays for National School of Drama, Ninasam, Rangamandal-Bhopal, Rangayana and worked with many theatre organizations of India. He elected as National President of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).
Telugu theatre is Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, Kanyasulkam in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language. C. Pullaiah is cited as the father of Telugu theatre movement.
Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu was one of the most important carnatic music violinists of the 20th century. Naidu was partially blind. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Fine Arts in 1953. Government of India conferred on him the Padma Shri Award in 1957. Several members of his family are also notable Carnatic violinists.
Ratan Thiyam is an Indian playwright and theatre director, and the winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, one of leading figures of the "theatre of roots" movement in Indian theatre, which started in the 1970s. Also known as Thiyam Nemai, Ratan Thiyam is known for writing and staging plays that use ancient Indian theatre traditions and forms in a contemporary context. A former painter, and proficient in direction, design, script and music, Thiyam is often considered one of leading contemporary theatre gurus.
Govind Purushottam Deshpande was a Marathi playwright and academic from Maharashtra, India.
Rajshekhar Mansur was an Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. He was the son and disciple of vocalist Mallikarjun Mansur.
Dr. Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry is a Chandigarh-based theatre artist who has worked around the world. She was awarded the 2003 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in the Theatre Direction category. She was the recipient of the 2011 Padma Shri Award. She is Professor Emeritus at Punjab University. Her well-known plays include Kitchen Katha, The Suit, Yerma, Nagamandala, The Mad Woman of Chaillot, Little Eyolf, Bitter Fruit, Naked Voices, Stree Patra and Gumm Hai.
Surabhi is a family theatre group based in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The group performs plays based on stories from Hindu mythology and the Puranas.
Gopala Pillai Sankara Pillai, better known as G. Sankara Pillai, was an Indian playwright, literary critic, and director, known to be one of the pioneers of modern Malayalam theatre. A proponent of total theater, he was the founder of Nataka Kalari movement in Kerala and the chairman of the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi. He was a recipient of a number of awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama in 1964 for the work Rail Palangal and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the best playwright in 1979.
Satyabrata Rout is an Indian theatre director Scenographer, Author and theatre academician. He is a former faculty member of the National School of Drama. At present, he is a professor and Head of the department of Theatre at University of Hyderabad, India. He is known for his contribution toward Visual theatre in India.
Bhoomika is an Indian Theatre group based in Hyderabad. It was founded in 1989 by Udaya Bhanu Garikipati. The group began its first production in 1989 with Kaki Bangaram, an adaption of Vijay Tendulkar's Pahije Jathiche. It later produced various original plays as well as adaptations in Telugu, Hindi and Deccani.
Gaddam Padmaja Reddy is an Indian Kuchipudi exponent and music teacher. She performs ballets on mythological themes and contemporary social issues. She choreographed Kakatiyam, a Kuchipudi visual dance form. She was conferred with Kala Ratna in 2006, India's highest art award–Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2015 and Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in the field of art for 2022.
Rudrapatna Krishnadikshita Padmanabha, commonly known by his initials RKP, is an Indian Carnatic music vocalist, performer, music teacher and author from the state of Karnataka. He established "Sapta Swara Devatha Dhyana Mandira" at native village Rudrapatna, Karnataka, memorializing renowned musicians of Indian classical music. He has been serving as the president of Karnataka Ganakala Parishat since 2004. He received Kempegowda Award and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Pandit Ravindra Yavagal is an Indian tabla player, performer and music teacher from the state of Karnataka. An eminent artiste, he is both a soloist and an accompanist. He received Rajyotsava Award in 1995, Karnataka Kalashri for 2016–17 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2021 for his contributions.
Dwaram Durga Prasad Rao is an Indian violinist of Carnatic music style, guru and music teacher from the state of Andhra Pradesh. For over fifty years, he has performed solo and as an accompanist in several music concerts. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, India's highest award in the arts, for his contributions to Carnatic music.
