Kalabhavan ( lit. "The House of Arts"), also known as Cochin Kalabhavan, is a centre for learning performing arts in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

, India. ''Kalabhavan'' is notable and known for being the first organised performing

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simples ...

group in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and which popularised the art of mimicry in the state of Kerala. Ever since its founding, Kalabhavan has served as a grooming centre for acting aspirants. Hence, Kalabhavan has contributed numerous actors as well as film directors to

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

History

Founded on 3 September 1969, by C.M.I. priest Fr. Abel, with the help of K. K. Antony, a music teacher, and

K. J. Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...

, then a budding playback singer, started Kalabhavan as the Christian Arts Club to promote Christian music. Kalabhavan received the patronage of Cardinal

Joseph Parecattil Joseph Parecattil (1 April 1912 – 20 February 1987) was an Indian prelate of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Ernakulam from 1956 to 1984, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. He was the first Cardinal fro ...

, the Archbishop of Ernakulam. It was K. J. Yesudas, who suggested to rename the institution as 'Kalabhavan'. Kalabhavan initially took up was producing Christian religious songs. Later they moved on to ''Ganamela'' (Concerts for film songs). Mimicry performances of individual artists were used as 'fillers' in between stage programs. Later, mimicry was organised as a team event to form the now popular ''Mimics Parade''. The professional mimicry troupe of Kalabhavan began with a team of 6 consisting of Siddique, Lal, Anzar, K. S. Prasad, Varkkichan and Rahman. It was this team that invented ''Mimics Parade'' in the present form. ''Harisree'' is the other notable mimics troupe in Kerala. In 2015, Kalabhavan opened its

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

centre at

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

Notable alumni

(In chronological order) * Siddique, director * Lal, actor and director * Zainuddin *

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bhojpuri language films. He is also a chenda ...

, actor *

Kalabhavan Rahman Kalabhavan Rahman is a Malayalam film actor in Kerala. Career Rahman started his film acting career in 1986 with a unimportant role. Reghunath Paleri directed the title Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare. He hails from Aluva in Kerala. Rahman is alumn ...

Harisree Ashokan Harisree Ashokan (born 6 April 1964) is an Indian actor and director who is known for his comedy roles in Malayalam films. Ashokan has acted in more than 200 Malayalam films. He started his career as a mimicry artist in the troupe Harisree and ...

, actor *

Dileep Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, better known by his stage name Dileep, is an Indian actor, producer, comedian and entrepreneur who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has also acted in Tamil, Hindi, and Kannada films. He has ...

, actor *

Nadirshah Nadirshah is an Indian actor, film director, music composer, playback singer, lyricist, mimicry artist, comedian, and television host, who works in Malayalam films, television and on-stage. He has also done several supporting roles in Malayala ...

* Kalabhavan Abi * N. F. Varghese *

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a Impersonator, mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had ...

, actor *

Salim Kumar Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mala ...

Kalabhavan Shajohn Shaji John, professionally credited by his stage name Kalabhavan Shajohn is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works primarily in Malayalam cinema. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, Kochi. Making his debut in 199 ...

Narayanankutty Narayanan Kutty or Kalabhavan Narayanankutty is a Malayalam film actor. He has acted in more than 300 films. He handles mainly comedy roles. Background Narayanan Kutty was born Ernakulam. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan ...

Fayiz Muhammed Fayiz Muhammed is an Indian violinist trained in Carnatic music and Western classical music. Early life Fayiz was born in Aluva to Saidu Muhammed T M and Shyla Saidu Muhammed. He was introduced to the violin as a child and started taking lesso ...

, violinist and composer *

Thesni Khan Thesni Khan is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films, television, and stage. She made her acting debut through '' Daisy'' in 1988. She is widely known for the portrayal of character roles. In 2020, she contested in the second season ...

* Hakim Rawther *

Bindu Panicker Bindu Panicker is an Indian actress who has more than 200 films to her credit. She has played both comedy and character roles in Malayalam cinema. Critically acclaimed for her performance in 2001 for Soothradharan. She was a member of the Asso ...

, actress *

Machan Varghese M. L. Varghese, (1960 – 3 February 2011) popularly known by stage name Machan Varghese, was a Malayalam film actor and mimicry artist. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan (house of arts) and debuted as an actor through '' ...

Sujatha Mohan Sujatha Mohan is a renowned Indian playback singer known for her contributions to a wide range of Indian film industries, particularly in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu cinema. Over her decades-long career, she has also recorded songs in other ...

, playback singer *

Kalabhavan Navas Kalabhavan Navas is an Indian stage, television, and film actor, singer, comedian, and mimicry artist.introduced to films by veteran director Balukiriyath in the film mimics action 500, along with 38 mimicry artists He is known for his roles ...

* Rafi of

Rafi Mecartin Rafi may refer to: Places * Rafi, Iran, a city in Khuzestan Province * Rafi, Abadan, a village in Khuzestan Province * Rafi, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Niger State Other uses * Rafi (name), a name of Arabic origin * Rafi, Indian fil ...

duo * Mecartin of

duo * Berny of Berny-Ignatius duo *

Kalabhavan Haneef Kalabhavan Haneef (1959 or 1960 – 9 November 2023) was an Indian actor and Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut with the film ''Cheppukilukkana Changathi'' (1991). Career Haneef started imper ...

References

{{authority control Indian impressionists (entertainers) Arts of Kerala Culture of Kochi Performing arts education in India Art schools in India 1969 establishments in Kerala