Kalidasa Kalakendram is a professional drama theatrical group founded by O. Madhavan, a well-known Malayalam

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, in

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

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 ...

. The group was founded on 25 January 1963 as a society under the parent organisation, Paul Foundation.

History

The city of

is well known for its affinity to

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

and drama theaters. There were more than 450 drama troupes in

in the past. Kalidasa Kalakendram is one among them, founded by thespian O. Madhavan on 25 January 1963 with the support of

O. N. V. Kurup Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...

, Vaikom Chandrasekharan Nair and Devarajan Master. Now the troupe is managed by Sandhya Rajendran''(daughter of O. Madhavan)'', E. A. Rajendran''(son-in-law of O. Madhavan)'', Actor

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...

''(son of O. Madhavan)'', Jayasree Syamlal''(daughter of O. Madhavan)'' and Syamlal''(son-in-law of O. Madhavan)''.

Famous plays by Kalidasa Kalakendram

* Aagamam * Chakravarthy * Chakravyooham * Circus * Deepthi * Doctor * Hamsageetham * Janani Janmabhoomi * Kaakkapponnu * Kadalpalam * Kadannalkoodu * Karuna * Kuttavum Sikshayum * Macbeth * Muthuchippi * Pravaham * Rainbow * Rakthanakshathram * Rashtrabhavan * Sangamam * Sankhumudra * Simhanaadam * Swantham Lekhakan * Thanneer Panthal * Theeram * Thuramukham * Yamuna * Yudhabhoomi * Vilambaram

Movies

In 2012, Kalidasa Kalakendram ventured into film production through the Malayalam movie '' Hide n' Seek'', directed by Anil. Divyadarshan, the grandson of O. Madhavan, played the lead role in the movie. The movie production house of Kalidasa Kalakendram was named as ''Kalidasa International Movies''.

Gallery

File:Kalidasa kalakendram.JPG, Curtain raising - Kalidasa Kalakendram File:O madavan.jpg, Founder - O. Madhavan File:E.A. Rajendran1.JPG, Chairman & Artistic Director - E.A. Rajendran File:Sandya rajendran.JPG, Treasurer - Sandhya Rajendran File:Vijayakumari.JPG, Secretary - Vijayakumari

References

{{Kollam Organisations based in Kollam Arts of Kerala Arts organisations based in India Theatrical organisations in India Performing arts in India 1963 establishments in Kerala Culture of Kollam Arts organizations established in 1963