O. Madhavan was an Indian theatre director and actor. He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India in Kerala. He is considered one of the great masters of the theatre; he has made major contributions for the evolution of theatre in Kerala. He was the founder of the renowned drama company Kalidasa Kala Kendram. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 2000 for his role in the film Sayahnam
Kavalam Narayana Panicker was an Indian dramatist, theatre director, and poet. He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare, notably Kalidasa's Vikramorvasiyam, Shakuntalam (1982), Bhasa's Madhyamavyayogam (1979), Karnabharam, Uru Bhangam (1988), Swapnavasavadattam, and Dootavakyam (1996). He was the founder – director of theatre troupe, Sopanam, which led to the foundation of Bhashabharati: Centre for Performing Arts, Training and Research, in Trivandrum.
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi is located in Thrissur city, of Kerala, in India. It was established on 26 April 1958, inaugurated by then Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The academy started a cultural centre at the Bahrain Kerala Samajam in Bahrain on 1 October 2010.
Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair popularly known as Kalamandalam Gopi, is an Indian dancer who is an exponent of the classical dance-drama style known as Kathakali.
P. Kesava Pillai, better known by his pen-name P. Kesavadev, was a novelist and social reformer of Kerala, India. He is remembered for his speeches, autobiographies, novels, dramas, short stories, and films. Odayil Ninnu, Nadhi, Bhrandalayam, Ayalkar, Ethirppu (autobiography) and Oru Sundariyude Athmakadha are some among his 128 literary works. Kesavadev along with Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and Vaikom Muhammad Basheer are considered the exponents of progressive Malayalam Literature.
Odayil Ninnu is a 1965 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and written by P. Kesavadev based on his novel of the same name. The film deals with the life and struggles of a proud and hardworking rickshaw puller, Pappu. It stars Sathyan, Prem Nazir, K. R. Vijaya and Kaviyoor Ponnamma. Master Dasarath plays the young Pappu. Suresh Gopi made his acting debut with the film, who was then six years old. He appeared as the feudal lord's timid son, who also becomes the root cause for Pappu running away from home.
S. L. Puram Sadanandan was an Indian playwright and film scriptwriter from Kerala, India.
M. K. Arjunan was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as Arjunan Master.
Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar was a Malayalam theatre actor, singer, and author. He is known for his contributions to Malayalam sangeetha natakam. Along with Ochira Velukutty, he was responsible for breaking the monotony of musical operas with their 1930 play Karuna, an adaptation of Kumaran Asan's famous poetic piece. He is the brother of actor Alleppey Vincent.
Kedamangalam Sadanandan was a Kadhaprasangam artist, actor, screenwriter and lyricist from Kerala. He performed Kadhaprasangam in more than 15,000 stages for over 50,000 hours in a career spanning about 64 years. He wrote scripts for 12 films, lyrics for more than hundred films and acted in about 40 films. He received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1981.
Jagathy N. K. Achary (1924–1997) was an Indian dramatist and writer who also worked in Malayalam films. He was known for his plays and screenplays. He is the father of actor Jagathy Sreekumar.
Kunjandi was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He has acted in more than 50 films. He handled character roles as well as supporting roles.
Mavelikkara Ponnamma was an Indian actress in Malayalam movies. She was one of the prominent supporting actress in late 1970s and 1990s in Malayalam movies. She is noted for her performance in Ulladakkam (1991), Aakasha Kottayile Sultan (1991) and Ennodu Ishtam Koodamo (1992).
C. M. Pappukutty Bhagavathar was an Indian singer and actor in Malayalam cinema.
C. O. Anto was an Indian film singer in Malayalam cinema during the 1960s and 1970s. His first film song was "Kummiyadikkuvin" for the movie Kadalamma in 1963. He has sung 178 Malayalam songs from 160 films. His popular songs were "Madhurikkum Ormakale", "Kummiyadikkuvin", "Chingakkulirkatte Agnipushpam", "Kannillathoru Kadalppalam" (drama) and "Vasantharavin". He died on 24 February 2001.
Vijayakumari is an Indian stage, television and film actress. She was a stage actress at Kerala People's Arts Club and Kalidasa Kalakendra. She is the winner of the Kerala State award for best stage actress. She received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1976 and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 2005. Currently she is the Secretary of Kalidasa Kalakendra.
Rajesh Sharma is an Indian actor, who appears in Malayalam movies. He acted in several dramas and debuted in Malayalam movie industry in 2005.
P. S. Vidyadharan is a music composer and playback singer who works in Malayalam cinema. In 2013, he completed 60 years of his musical career.
C. L. Jose, in full Chakkalakal Lonappan Jose, is an Indian playwright of Malayalam literature. One of the pioneers of popular Malayalam theatre and a former chairman of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Jose is the author of 36 plays, 75 one-act plays, one children's play and Ormakalkku Urakkamilla, his autobiography. He is a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship and S. L. Puram Sadanandan Puraskaram of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.
V. T. Murali is an Indian playback singer and music critic from Kerala. He is known for many songs including the song "Othu palliyilannu nammal" composed by Padma Shri K. Raghavan from the movie Thenthulli directed by National award-winning director K. P. Kumaran. He was a former board member of Kerala State Film Development. Corporation. He is also the president of K Rakhavan master Award foundation As a music critic, Murali has written 12 books.
