Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar (9 February 1901 in

Ambalappuzha Ambalappuzha is a small town in the Alappuzha district of Kerala state, India. It is located south of Alappuzha which is the district headquarters. Ambalappuzha is divided into the two panchayats of Ambalapuzha North and Ambalapuzha South. ...

Alappuzha district Alappuzha district (), is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to ''Alapp ...

– 1985) was a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

theatre actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, singer, and author. He is known for his contributions to Malayalam '' sangeetha natakam'' (musical operas). Along with Ochira Velukutty, he was responsible for breaking the monotony of musical operas with their 1930 play ''Karuna'', an adaptation of

Kumaran Asan Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (12 April 1871 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam poetry during the first quarter of the 20th century, ...

's famous poetic piece. He is the brother of actor

Alleppey Vincent Alleppey Vincent was an Indian actor in Malayalam cinema. He acted in '' Balan'' (1938), the first talkie made in Malayalam. He is the brother of Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar. Biography Vincent was born to Pollayil Vincent and Margarita as ...

. __TOC__

Early life and career

Sebastian was born on 9 February 1901 to Pollayil Vincent and Margarita as their second child in

taluk of

in the Indian state of

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 ...

. His brother

is also a well known person in Malayalam industry who acted in the first talkie ever made in Malayalam, ''Balan''. After initial schooling in his native village, he attended the Leo XIII School in Alappuzha. He later enrolled at St. Albert's High School in

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

. It was at St. Albert's that he joined a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

drama troupe and toured several parts of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

before returning to Ernakulam. During his stay in Ernakulam, Kunjukunju was busy with drama and music and paid little attention to his studies. He returned to his home village to look after his ailing father. In 1923, Kunjukunju married Marykutty. She gave her support to his later theatrical ventures. Kunjukunju's first lead role was in ''Njanasundari'', a Tamil drama translated into Malayalam, which told the story of Prince Plendran and Princess Njanasundari. For next few years after ''Njanasundari'', he could not get any major role in dramas. In 1929, "Royal Cinema & Dramatic Company" staged the drama ''Parudeesa Nashtam'', which was based on

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

's epic poem ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

''. Kunjukunju played the role of Adam, while

Ochira Velukkutty 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'' (musical play) was broken in 193 ...

, an actor who is said to have enacted female roles better than real women, played Eve. This is followed by ''Satyavansavitri'', ''Alliarjuna'', ''Kovalan Charitram'', ''Nallathanka'', and ''Harishchandra''. The Kunjukunju–Velukkutty duo was the main attraction of all these dramas as they drew huge crowds.

Filmography

As an actor

* ''

Vidhi Thanna Vilakku ''Vidhi Thanna Vilakku'' is a 1962 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by S. S. Rajan and produced by Guruvayoorappan Pictures. The film stars Sathyan, Ragini, Sukumari and Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai. Cast * Sathyan *Ragini *Sukumari ...

'' (1962) * '' Minnalppadayaali'' (1959) * '' Baalyasakhi'' (1954) * ''

Sheriyo Thetto ''Sheriyo Thetto'' is a Malayalam-language film released in 1953 under the production of Mangala Pictures. The film was directed, written and dialogues by Thikkurissy. The movie was directorial debut of Thikkurissy. Though the movie was not a ...

'' (1953) * ''Achan'' (1952) * '' Navalokam'' (1951) * '' Jeevithanouka'' (1951) * ''

Gnanambika ''Gnanambika'' is a 1940 Indian Malayalam film, directed by S. Nottani and produced by Annamala Chettiyar. The film stars K. K. Aroor, Alleppey Vincent and Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar in lead roles. The film had musical score by T. K. J ...

'' (1940)

As a Singer

* "Nin Paadame Sharanam"... ''

'' (1940) * "Manojnam"... ''Jnaanaambika'' (1940) * "Mohaname"... ''Jnaanaambika'' (1940) * "Kadhayithu Kelkkaan Sahajare Vaa"... ''

'' (1940) * "Sukhamadhuram Sukhamadhuram"... ''

'' (1940) * "Aanathalayolam Venna"... ''Jeevithanouka'' (1951)

Awards

* 1966:

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

References

External links

*http://www.malayalachalachithram.com/profiles.php?i=1346 * 1901 births 1985 deaths Malayalam-language writers Male actors from Alappuzha Malayalam playback singers 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors in Malayalam cinema Indian male film actors 20th-century Indian singers Singers from Kerala Indian Christian writers Musicians from Alappuzha Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award {{India-stage-actor-stub