Profile

Kavalam Narayana Panikkar is a name to reckon with in theatre in Kerala and the rest of India. He has done deep research in the indigenous "music and tala" tradition of Kerala Sopana Sangitam.

Panikkar has established himself as one of Kerala's most respected playwrights and theatre directors, working closely with traditional forms. His works have opened a new way in the world of Malayalam dramas. He was highly successful in staging poetic dramas in the folk - classic style.

One has to give credit to the director for daring to stage a play in Sanskrit and bringing the classics back to life on stage. To Panikkar also goes the credit for enticing Mohanlal, the Malayalam superstar of the silver screen to try his hand at acting in a Sanskrit play, Karnabharnam.

This founder-director of the Sopana theatre has written 26 Malayalam plays and translated many English and Sanskrit classic plays into Malayalam. With the Sopanam troupe, he has participated at the Kalidasa Samaroh in Ujjain, the Nandikar festival in Kolkata and many other prominent festivals in India and abroad.

Through 'Sopanam', he has tried to discover the basic principles of theatre through various dance and music forms like Sopana Sangeetam, Mohiniattam, contemporary recreations of epics etc. It seeks to interweave dramatic action with music and dance patterns, so that the spectator can discern the philosophical meanings inherent in epic tales like those of the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Panikkar's pioneering work with Sopanam has earned him the Kalidasa Samman, awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Government.