She left everyone in a trance of sorts that day…was it her deeply expressive eyes? Or, perhaps, her careful, deliberate movements, each one like a well-crafted piece of a larger puzzle, took us all to a different dimension. Because when Koodiyattam artiste Kapila Venu finished her performance, resounding applause filled the air at the 10th Annual International Convention of SPIC MACAY, held at IIT-H.
Delving into the performing arts was but natural for Kapila, who chose to tread the path of Koodiyattam in her early 20s. Born in Irinjalakuda, a town in Kerala’s Thrissur district, she grew up watching her mother, Nirmala Panicker, an artiste and researcher of Mohiniyattam, and her father, Venu G, a Koodiyattam exponent and scholar.
For the uninitiated, Koodiyattam is a 2,000-year-old performing art form in Kerala. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit theatre with elements of Koothu, an ancient performing art from the Sangam era.
Kapila narrates, “My father, as a young performer, first encountered Koodiyattam after watching a performance by the great guru, Ammannur Madhava Chakyar. He felt it was a life-changing experience — he had never seen an art form so intense and beautiful. At the time, he was a trained Kathakali performer, deeply involved in theatre and research. He was so enamoured with Koodiyattam that he gave up everything and became a disciple of the great guru. And that’s how Koodiyattam entered our lives.”
Kapila has always been a diligent student, preparing with focus for every performance. “My repertoire includes pieces I have learned from my teachers, some that my father has choreographed for me, and ones that I have choreographed for myself. I make it a point to rehearse with musicians and write the performance text by hand,” she explains, adding, “But while performing, I like to have a sense of abandonment and spontaneity.”
Yet, even after countless performances, Kapila confesses that every single time she’s on stage, it is still as intense as the first time. “I have the same sort of jitteriness and nervousness, which, I believe, is a good thing. I am still a work in progress,” she humbly admits.
Kapila never restricted herself to Koodiyattam. Instead, she put her heart and soul into other art forms, theatre, and even acted in movies like Jigarthanda Double X (2023) and The Cloud Messenger (2022).
“In my early 20s, I travelled to Japan as part of a Koodiyattam ensemble to perform. I came across a unique art movement called Bhutto, which had bloomed in post-World War II Japan. It was avant garde, essentially challenging the classical views on aesthetics,” she explains.
Japanese artiste Min Tanaka was teaching this art form, and Kapila was instantly intrigued. She recalls, “I requested him to accept me as a disciple, to which he agreed. For five years after that, I would go back to Japan for a few months and train under him; I even danced in two of his productions.”
But she says Koodiyattam will always be her anchor. “The acting manual of Koodiyattam is ‘Attaprakaram’. Essentially, we tell one large story in a single performance with deep, deliberate storytelling. The acting uses the eyes, invokes the navarasas (nine emotions), and embodies characters refined over generations. Koodiyattam is not just entertainment; it’s a knowledge system that demands full engagement and immersion,” she emphasises.
But where does Koodiyattam stand today among the new generation? Kapila is optimistic, expressing, “There is a boom of activity happening in the dance world today. Koodiyattam, too, has a promising next generation — brilliant performers who are deeply invested in studying the intricacies of the art.”
As the mother of a little boy, Kapila follows the same principle her parents did with her — “I will never force him into something.” But he begs to differ, revealing to us, “You forced me into going for an art class yesterday!”
She gently laughs, before switching on professional mode again to say, “You never finish learning Koodiyattam. It’s a path, and in today’s very chaotic world, I am grateful to have a purpose. I feel like home with Koodiyattam…it is my language.”