THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When Sivan Namboodiri started learning koodiyattam in the 1950s, he was met with outright opposition. He had to brave a lot of scorn and sarcasm from the practitioners of the art form as he didn’t belong to the chakyar community. According to wikipedia, he was the first artist from outside the chakyar community to perform koodiyattam and is also considered as the first artist to learn koodiyattam in an institutional way, breaking free from the gurukula system. Recording his eventful life is Rajan Karimoola’s 50-minute documentary that will have its first screening next week in Kalamandalam. “We mainly focused on his contributions to the art form that was later recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity,” said Rajan.
Sivam tries to capture the exceptional life of the koodiyattam legend and his art. “He is an artist who had to struggle a lot to learn koodiyattm. During that time the art form was confined to koothambalams in temples and only Chakyar community members were allowed to perform. He was asked to opt for the occupation of a priest, just like others in his caste,” he said. But fortunately the illustrious Painkulam Rama Chakyar took him under his wings and Sivan Namboodiri started his lessons on koodiyattom. “By that time Painkulam was trying to start a koodiyattam department in Kalamandalam and Sivan Namboodiri was enrolled as one of the first two students of koodiyattam,” said Rajan. Kalamandalm Sivan Namboodiri later went on to become a prominent figure in the field and has a spate of honours to his credit including Padma Shri.
The documentary chronicles many unknown facts about the artist’s life through a series of interactions. “Even after completing his course from Kalamandalam many koothambalams were not open to him,” he said. Noted names in the field like Margi Sati, Girija and Naryana Chakyar are part of the documentary that also records the history of the art form. Rajan Karimoola says it took him three years to complete the documentary as they had to wait for some specific performances. “Due to his age-related issues he has cut down the number of performances. Then, koodiyattam being a classical art and a form of Sanskrit theatre it involved a lot of research,” says Rajan who had earlier done a photography series on Kottakkal Sivaraman. “I know Sivan Namboodiri for the last eight years and wanted to capture his extraordinary life,” he said. Shivam will have its first screening on September 25 at Kalamandalam.