Manoj at 05:06, 2 October 2025

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{{short description|Indian playwright and theatre director}}
{{Indian patronymic|Emil|Madhavi}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Emil Madhavi
|image = Emil madhavi.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Emil Madhavi
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Kozhikode]], [[Kerala]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education =
| occupation = Playwright, theatre director, acting trainer
| spouse = Roshni Swapna
| parents =
| children =
| awards = [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama]] (2022)
}}
'''Emil Madhavi''' is a writer, theatre actor, playwright, director, and acting trainer from Kerala India. His play collection ''Kumaru'' won the 2022 [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama]], 2022 [[Edasseri Award]] and the 2022 [[Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award]] for drama.

==Biography==
Emil Madhavi was born in [[Kozhikode]].<ref name="green">{{cite web |title=Emil Madhavi |url=https://greenbooksindia.com/emil-madhavi |website=greenbooksindia.com}}</ref> He graduated in Chemistry from [[St. Joseph's College, Devagiri]], Kozhikode, and graduated with first rank in drama studies from [[School of Drama and Fine Arts]], [[Thrissur]].<ref name="Deshabhimani">{{Cite web |url=https://www.deshabhimani.com/news/kerala/news-malappuramkerala-02-07-2023/1101476 |title=ആർക്കൈവ് പകർപ്പ് |access-date=2023-07-07 |archive-date=2023-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162910/https://www.deshabhimani.com/news/kerala/news-malappuramkerala-02-07-2023/1101476 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later he took post-graduate studies in drama from [[University of Hyderabad]].<ref name="green"/> He also studied [[yoga]] from Rishikesh Yoga Vedanta Academy.<ref name="green"/> He is the founder and creative director of 'Theatre Company' in Kozhikode.<ref name="green"/>

He is doing his PhD research on 'Sound Scenography and Contemporary Theatre Performance'.<ref name="Deshabhimani"/>

===Personal life===
Emil's life partner is Roshni Swapna, a poet, novelist, painter, and teacher at [[Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University]], Tirur.<ref name="Mathrubhumi">{{cite news |title=ഓർമകൾ മഹാകാവ്യങ്ങളെപ്പോലെയാണ്, കൃത്യമായി വന്ന് തൊട്ടാൽ പൊള്ളിപ്പോവും- എമിൽ മാധവി |url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/special-pages/onam-2024/onam-articles/in-conversation-with-performance-artist-theatre-director-emil-madhavi-1.9823117 |work=[[Mathrubhumi]] |date=21 August 2024 |language=en}}</ref> They live in [[Tirur]] in [[Malappuram district]] now.<ref name="Deshabhimani" />

==Career==
Emil acted in 40 theatre productions and directed 25 plays.<ref name="Indian Express">{{cite news |title=Beyond the stage and script |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2022/Jan/06/beyond-the-stage-and-script-2403505.html |work=[[The New Indian Express]] |date=6 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The main plays he directed are ''Imitation of Death'', ''Divine Comedy'', ''Varinia'', ''Image Book'', and ''A Secret Tile of an Invisible Mirror''.<ref name="Deshabhimani" />

He is currently a Graded Artist in the Drama Department of [[All India Radio]].<ref name="green"/>

Emil is active in research activities in intimate theater and applied theater, which allows to experience the body's movement potential at its highest level.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> He has authored about twenty research papers related to drama.<ref name="Deshabhimani" />

Emil who experimented with different modes of theatre production, introduced a novel method of involving a limited audience and making them part of the play. Emil has named this 'The Performance Museum Project'.<ref name="Indian Express" /> A Performance Museum is a concept similar to how one experiences an art museum, where the audience can see the characters and also immerse themselves in the play.<ref name="Manorama"/> He also developed an acting training program called Inner Circle Acting Methods and conducts acting training classes in India and abroad.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Emil madhavi |url=https://www.newwavefilmschool.com/about-5 |access-date=2025-07-22 |website=New Wave Film School |language=en}}</ref>

==Noted works==
===Marananukaranam===
''Imitation of Death'' (''Marananukaranam'' in Malayalam) is a play that only accommodates 15 audience.<ref name="Hindu">{{cite news |title=A play where audience become performers |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/a-play-where-audience-become-performers/article38014671.ece |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=22 December 2021 |language=en-IN}}</ref> The audience becomes part of the play.<ref>{{cite news |title=Blurring borders between performers and audience in Kozhikode |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/blurring-borders-between-performers-and-audience/article38095444.ece |work=The Hindu |date=2 January 2022 |language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=മരണത്തിന്റെ വഴികളിലൂടെ ഒരു സ്വപ്നാടനം; മരണാനുകരണം എന്ന നാടകത്തിലൂടെ... |url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/literature/news/emil-madhavi-directs-the-play-an-imitation-of-death-1.6317723 |work=Mathrubhumi |date=31 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Another unique feature is that a single performance of this play takes place in eighteen different locations.<ref name="Manorama">{{cite news |title=On Stage: Fish fry, Ambassador car, audience; the new sense and sensibility of theatre |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/art-and-culture/2024/03/27/on-stage-world-theatre-day-performance-museum-concept-emil-madhavi.html |work=On Stage: Fish fry, Ambassador car, audience; the new sense and sensibility of theatre |language=en}}</ref> Along with the concept of death, the play focuses on the sounds, smells, the smell of his grandfather, witchcraft, rituals, and other things that he loved since his childhood.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> Most of the play is performed with the audience blindfolded.<ref name="Indian Express"/> It was first staged in [[Hyderabad]], in 2017<ref name="Indian Express"/> Yasir Amin writes in [[Thejas]] News that the theater performance "An Imitation of Death" gave him a rare experience in which death itself instilled courage in someone who was afraid to think about death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yasir |first=Amin |date=2022-01-02 |title='മരണാനുകരണം മരണത്തെ കണ്ടെത്തുമ്പോള്‍' |url=https://www.thejasnews.com/culture/theater/an-imitation-in-death-theatre-story-194863 |access-date=2025-07-22 |website=www.thejasnews.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Kumaru===
The theme of the play Kumaru is the search for truth carried out by a thief. However, Emil says that it is not just a thief's search but the search of every human being, and that the play does not seek the truth but what is the language of truth.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/>

===Raghavan Dai===
''Raghavan Dai'', written and directed by Emil, is a crime thriller play set in the 1990s.<ref name="Deshabhimani2">{{Cite web |title=13-ാമത് ഭരത് മുരളി നാടകോത്സവം; ശക്തമായ പ്രമേയവുമായ് എമിൽ മാധവിയുടെ 'രാഘവൻ ദൈ' |url=https://www.deshabhimani.com/pravasi/pravasi-news-05312/nadakotsavam-31841 |access-date=2025-07-22 |website=Deshabhimani |language=en}}</ref> This play was presented by Al Quso Theatre Dubai at the 13th Bharat Murali Drama Festival held in [[Abu Dhabi]] in 2025 January.<ref name="Deshabhimani2" />

===Mayyazhipuzhayute Theerangalil===
Another notable work of Emil is the drama adaptation of [[M. Mukundan]]'s famous novel ''[[Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil]]''. The play with the same name as the novel was first staged at the [[Kannur]] Collectorate Grounds in May 2024 as part of the Deshabhimani M Mukundan Literary Festival.<ref name="Deshabhimani3">{{Cite web |title='മയ്യഴിപ്പുഴയുടെ തീരങ്ങളിൽ' നാളെ അരങ്ങിൽ |url=https://www.deshabhimani.com/Art%20&%20Stage/news_77/31393 |access-date=2025-07-22 |website=Deshabhimani |language=ml}}</ref> That was the first time the novel is being staged.<ref name="Deshabhimani3"/> More than 32 artists perform in this two-hour play, which is performed on a stage that extends into the audience.<ref name="Deshabhimani3"/>

===Varinia===
Scripted by [[Civic Chandran]], and directed by Emil and his wife Roshni Swapna, ''Varinia'' is a play adaptation of the story of [[Spartacus]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-05-31 |title=Making it her story |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/making-it-her-story/article4769247.ece |access-date=2025-07-27 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Books published==
*{{Cite book |title=Kumaru |publisher=Ivory Books |isbn=8194821517 |publication-date=1 January 2020}} Collection of plays.
*{{Cite book |title=Appakkunjungalude Aakasayathra|publisher=Green Books| ISBN= 9789387331082 |publication-date=1 January 2017}} Collection of short plays in children's literature.

==Awards and honors==
Emil Madhavi won the 2022 [[Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award]] for best play collection, for ''Kumaru''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards announced, V Shinilal's 'Sambarkkakranthi' best novel |url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/features/books/kerala-sahitya-akademi-awards-announced-v-shinilal-s-sambarkkakranthi-wins-best-novel-f1c5ad0d |work=@mathrubhumi |date=30 June 2023 |language=en}}</ref> This book also received the 2022 [[Edasseri Award]] and the 2022 [[Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award]] for drama.<ref name="Deshabhimani2" /><ref name="Deshabhimani" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madhavi, Emil}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Indian theatre directors]]
[[Category:People from Kozhikode district]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Emil Madhavi - Revision history

Manoj at 05:06, 2 October 2025