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.
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.
Kumara Varma is an Indian theatre director. To date, he has directed at least thirty-six Indian and Western plays during the past five decades, including Raja Oedipus, Urubhangam, Mattavilasam, Abhijnana Shakuntalam, Ashadh Ka Ek Din, Baaki Itihas, Uddhwast Dharmashala, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Death Watch, Agg De Kaleere and Leedli Nagari ki Neeti Katha.
S. L. Puram Sadanandan was an Indian playwright and film scriptwriter from Kerala, India.
K. T. Mohammed, popularly known as KT, was a Malayalam playwright and screenwriter. He had scripted about 40 stage plays, including Idhu Bhumiyanu, considered to be his masterpiece. He had also written screenplay for about 20 films, including Kandam Becha Kottu, Thurakkatha Vathil, Moodupadam, and Kadalpalam. K. T. was a recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Thoppil Bhaskara Pillai, known as Thoppil Bhasi was an Indian Malayalam-language playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He was associated with the communist movement in Kerala and his play Ningalenne Communistakki is considered to be a groundbreaking event in the history of Malayalam theatre.
Kainikkara Kumara Pillai (1900–1988) was an Indian teacher, actor, short story writer, essayist and playwright of Malayalam literature, best known for his plays such as Harichandra, Mathruka Manushyan and Mohavum, Mukhtiyum. He was the younger brother of Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai, a noted author and thinker. An author of 18 books, Kumara Pillai was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama in 1970. The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi inducted him as a distinguished fellow in 1975 followed by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi in 1986.
Ochira Velukutty (1905–1954) was an Indian dramatist in the early days of Malayalam theatre. The Malayalam theatre began as an offshoot of Tamil theatre. In South Kerala, the monotony of the sangeetha natakam was broken in 1930 by the play Karuna, an adaptation of Kumaran Asan's famous poetic piece. The adaptation was done by Brahmavrathan and the actors Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar and Ochira Velukutty. This adaptation constituted a radical breakthrough in the 'sangeetha nataka' tradition and its implications were far reaching. It became part of the social reformist movement being led by the precepts of Sree Narayana Guru. It made history, having been staged more than 7,000 times over seven years. The heroine of the story, Vasavadatha, was played by Velukutty and secured him a place in the history of Malayalam theatre.
Puthiyara Maliyakkal Taj, popularly known as P. M. Taj, was an Indian creative writer, actor, screenwriter, and director in Malayalam theatre. Taj wrote many plays during his short span of life and won several awards including the Sakthi Award, instituted in memory of the progressive Malayalam writer Cherukad, and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award twice.
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.
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.
Mavelikara S. R. Raju is an acclaimed Carnatic music percussionist. He is adept in playing the mridangam. He is the sishya (disciple) of the celebrated Mridangam maestro Mavelikara Krishnankutty Nair.
Padmanabhan Balachandran Nair was an Indian writer, playwright, scenarist, director, and actor. He was known for his work in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema.
Sajitha Madathil is an Indian film and theatre actor. Her performance in Joy Mathew's feature film Shutter (2012) won her the Kerala State film award for second best actress. She is the head of the department of Acting at the K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA), an autonomous institute established by the Government of Kerala. She had been the Deputy Secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi New Delhi(Academy of Music and Dance, India), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. She appeared in the feature films Shutter in 2012, in Adimadhyantham in 2011, and in Shalini Usha Nair's feature film Akam in 2011.
Vayala Vasudevan Pillai was a Malayalam-language playwright from Kerala, India. He was the disciple of eminent playwright G. Sankara Pillai. He directed over 40 plays. Some of his popular plays include Viswadarsanam (1977), Thulaseevaram (1979), Agni (1982), Rangabhasha (1984), Varavelpu (1985), Kuchelagadha (1988), The Death of Nestling (1992), Suthradhara, Ethile... Ethile? (1993), Kunji Chirakukal (1994), and Swarnakokkukal (1999).
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.
K. P. A. C. Sunny (1934–2006) was an Indian actor in Malayalam movies. He acted in more than 400 Malayalam films. He occupied the movie industry for four decades.
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.
Varanasi Vishnu Namboothiri is a Maddalam exponent from Kerala, India, best known for playing Maddalam for Kathakali performances. He received several noted awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Gurupooja Award and Kerala Kalamandalam Award.
Malayalam drama, known as Natakam (നാടകം) in Malayalam, is an important genre of Malayalam literature. The origin of Malayalam drama can be traced back to various performing arts of Kerala such as Kathakali. Drama, as is understood now, is a borrowed art form in Kerala and started with the publication of the Malayalam translation of Abhijnana Shakuntalam in 1882. The field of Malayalam theatre and drama became active by the end of the 19th century. It played an active role in the early-20th-century Kerala reform movement.
