Kathakali is a traditional form of classical Indian dance, and one of the most complex forms of Indian theatre. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the Malayalam-language southwestern region of Kerala and is almost entirely practiced by Malayali people.
Kesavan Venugopal, better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Malayalam and also in Tamil in a career spanning nearly five decades. He wrote screenplays and directed one film. Nedumudi Venu won three National Film Awards, three Filmfare Award South and six Kerala State Film Awards for his various performances in various Movies.
Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School, previously called Government Model High School, is a school in Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram, India. The school is affiliated to the Kerala State Board of Education and is one of the oldest schools in Kerala.
Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair, popularly known by the stage name Bharat Gopy, was an Indian actor, producer, and director. Considered one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema, Gopy was one of the first actors to be associated with the New Wave cinema movement in Kerala during the 1970s.
The International Film Festival of Kerala is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is held in November or December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
N. N. Pillai was an Indian playwright, actor, theatre director, orator, screenplay writer, lyricist and an I.N.A Freedom fighter. : in INA - Indian National Army). He has been given the title “Nadakacharyan” of Malayalam Theatre. through his contributions to theater as a playwright, director, actor and a producer.
Intercultural theater, also known as cross-culturaltheatre, may transcend time, while mixing and matching cultures or subcultures. Mixing and matching is the unavoidable process in the making of inner connections and the presentations of interculturalities. The majority of the works in intercultural theatre deal basically with thinking and doing around the themes, stories, pre-performative or performative concepts of Asian classical theatre or traditional performing arts forms and practices, mixing and matching the concepts or the ideas of the foreign. After the well-known success of Peter Brook's production of the Mahabharata, the trend has been evolving tremendously around the globe and many the cultural institutions of many governments have become directly interested in pushing the boundaries of intercultural senses and sensitivities by financially investing on new theatrical productions, university research, conferences and fellowships
Thalappavu is a 2008 Malayalam language period thriller film based on the events related to Naxal Varghese and Police Constable P. Ramachandran Nair, directed by Madhupal and written by Babu Janardhanan. The film sympathetically portrays the social and political issues of the Naxalite era of the 1970s in Kerala. The film's cast includes Prithviraj Sukumaran, Lal and Atul Kulkarni. Produced by actor Mohan under the Civic Cinema banner and distributed by Lal's Lal Release, Thalappavu marks actor-cum-writer Madhupal’s directorial debut.
Edappally Raghavan Pillai was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature and a close associate of Changampuzha Krishna Pillai. The pair, the front-runners of romanticism in Malayalam, was considered by many as the Shelley and Keats combination of Malayalam poetry. Kesari Balakrishna Pillai compared Pillai to the Italian poet, Giacomo Leopardi.
The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) is a Sanskrit university in India established in 1993 in Kalady, Kerala. The foundation stone for the university was laid by Bharathi Tirtha Mahaswamiji of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham. SSUS provides education in Sanskrit, other Indian and Foreign languages, Social science and fine arts. It is accredited A+ by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The university has eight regional campuses across Kerala.
N. Krishna Pillai was an Indian dramatist, literary critic, translator and historian of Malayalam language. Known for his realism and dramatic portrayal of psycho-social tensions, Pillai's plays earned him the moniker, Kerala Ibsen. He was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama, Odakkuzhal Award, Vayalar Award and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, besides other honours. The Kerala Sahitya Akademi inducted him as a distinguished fellow in 1979.
V. R. Prabodhachandran Nayar, popularly known as VRP Nayar, is a Phonetics expert of Kerala. He is the pioneer in the study of the phonology of the Malayalam language. Apart from phonology, he is also interested in syntax and stylistics.
Thirunalan Sasitharan is a Singaporean theatre educator and the co-founder and director of Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), formerly known as the Theatre Training & Research Programme (TTRP).
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.
Gopinath Pillai is a Singaporean diplomat and businessman who served as an ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kok Heng Leun is a former Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) who represented the arts sector in Singapore. He was appointed by the President of Singapore in March 2016. He steps down as Co-Artistic Director of Singaporean theatre company Drama Box in 2022, and continue his practice in the company as an Artist, Founder. He is a member of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Programme Committee, and is part of the arts advisory panel of the National Arts Council, Singapore.
The Intercultural Theatre Institute (ITI), formerly known as Theatre Training & Research Programme (TTRP), is a specialised, independent actor-training school in Singapore that offers a three-year full-time programme that trains actors through contemporary approaches and classical Asian theatre training. It is currently under the aegis of Singapore's Committee for Private Education.
Abhilash Pillai is an Indian theatre director, both pedagogue and scholar of contemporary Indian theatre.
Anuradha Kapur is an Indian theatre director and professor of drama. She taught at the National School of Drama (NSD) for over three decades and was the Director of National School of Drama for six years (2007–2013). For her work as a theatre director, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award was conferred on her in 2004. In 2016, she was awarded the J. Vasanthan Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in theatre. Her work as a director is noted for its open and interactive nature.
