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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian dancer}}<br />
{{Cleanup|reason=lack of sources, inappropriate tone.|date=December 2019}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair<br />
| image = Kalamandalam-Gopi-2.jpg<br />
| image_size = 225px<br />
| alt = <br />
| caption = Kalamandalam Gopi during a public function in 2011.<br />
| birth_date = 25 May 1937<br />
| birth_place = [[Kothachira]], [[Kerala]], India<br />
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --><br />
| death_place = <br />
| other_names = Kalamandalam Gopi<br />
| known_for = <br />
| occupation = [[Kathakali Actor]], actor<br />
}}<br />
[[File:Keechaka Vadham BNC.jpg|thumb|262px|Keechaka Vadham performed by Kalamandalam Gopi]]<br />
'''Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair''' popularly known as '''Kalamandalam Gopi''', is an Indian dancer who is an exponent of the classical dance-drama style known as [[Kathakali]].<br />
<br />
== Life ==<br />
Born as Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair in the Southern Indian village of [[Kothachira]] in Kerala, he completed his formal lessons in the dance from the Kerala Kalamandalam in 1957.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/kalamandalam-gopi-has-been-the-favourite-of-kathakalis-aficionados/article18699924.ece|title=Kalamandalam Gopi has been the favourite of Kathakali's aficionados|last=K.k.gopalakrishnan|date=2017-06-01|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-12-12|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He began his career on the Kathakali stage in the 1960s and 1970s, but he had been appointed as a teacher at his alma mater, the Kerala Kalamandalam in 1957, by poet laureate Vallathol Narayana Menon, who had founded the school.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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In 1992, Gopi retired from the post as school principal and he is the only living performer of the art to have been appointed by Vallathol Narayana Menon himself.<ref name=":0" /> He is considered an icon of this dance performance.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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The government of India awarded him the civilian honour of [[Padma Shri]] in 2009.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf|title=Padma Awards|date=2015|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf|archive-date=15 October 2015|access-date=21 July 2015}}</ref><br />
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==Dance==<br />
Gopi is known for the romantic and dramatic portrayal of the virtuous pachcha roles in Kathakali, notable among them being [[Nala]]n, [[Karna]]n and [[Rukmangada]]n. He has also played the choreographically denser roles of Bheeman (in the stories [[Kalyanasaugandhikam|Kalyanasougandhikam]] or [[Bakavadham]]), Arjuna ([[Subhadraharanam]]) and Dharmaputrar (that's [[Yudhishthira]] in [[Kirmeeravadham]]). Gopi is also highly regarded for his portrayal of yellow-faced pazhukka roles and other styles.<br />
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Gopi is a disciple of the award-winning [[Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair]], [[Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair]] and [[Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair]], and was trained at [[Kerala Kalamandalam]], near [[Shoranur]]. Before that, he had a brief career as a practitioner of the more folksy [[Ottamthullal]], the solo dance form with lyrics by the [[Kunchan Nambiar]], a satirical poet. That was followed by his initiation into Kathakali by a leading guru called [[Thekkinkattil Ramunni Nair]] at the Koodallur Mana (a mansion of an upper-caste [[Namboodiri]] family) near Kothachira.<br />
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By the 1960s, Gopi's male protagonist roles were complemented by [[Kottakkal Sivaraman]], who gained name as an exponent of female roles on the stage. The pair still perform on stage together, although Gopi now also works with a younger colleague, [[Margi Vijayakumar]].<br />
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==In film==<br />
Gopi has also acted (without Kathakali make-up or costumes) in several [[Malayalam]] feature films like [[Vanaprastham]].<br />
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Filmmaker [[Adoor Gopalakrishnan]] made a documentary film of Gopi, entitled ''Kalamandalam Gopi''. The film was shown at the [[International Film Festival of India]] in 2000, as well as at other festivals in India and abroad. Journalist Meena (Das) Narayan produced and directed a docu-fiction about Gopi in 2010. Titled ''[[Making of a maestro]]'', the documentary explores the evolution of Nair from childhood onwards.<br />
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==Awards==<br />
* 1995 – [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keralaculture.org/kathakali-a-ksna/468|title=Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award: Kathakali|publisher=Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala|access-date=26 February 2023}}</ref><br />
* 2006 – [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keralaculture.org/kathakali-ksna/460|title=Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship: Kathakali|publisher=Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala|access-date=26 February 2023}}</ref><br />
* 2009 – [[Padma Shri]]<ref name="Padma Awards"/><br />
* 2011 – [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship]]<br />
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<gallery widths="160" heights="110" class="center" caption="Various Veshams of Kalamandalam Gopi"><br />
File:Kalamandalam-Gopi-Nalan.jpg|Kalamandalam Gopi as Nalan in Nalacharitham Randam Divasam.<br />
File:Padmasree Kalamandalam Gopi.jpg|Kalamandalam Gopi as Nalan in Nalacharitham Randam Divasam.<br />
File:Kalamandalam Gopi.jpg|Kalamandalam Gopi as Nalan in Nalacharitham Randam Divasam.<br />
File:Kalamandalam Gopi as Nalan.jpg|Kalamandalam Gopi as Nalan in Nalacharitham Randam Divasam.<br />
File:Kalamandalam Gopi As Dasharadhan.jpg|Kalamandalam Gopi as Dasharadha in Dasharadhavilapam.<br />
File:Gopi Asan as Karnan.jpg|Padmasree Kalamandalam Gopi Asan as Karnan in Karnashapadam.<br />
File:Kalamandalam Gopi - Nalacharitham Second Day.jpg|Kalamandalam Gopi as Nalan in Nalacharitham Randam Divasam.<br />
</gallery><br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
{{Commons category|Kalamandalam Gopi}}<br />
*[http://pib.nic.in/archive/iffi2000/snpiffi2000ipnf1.html International Film Festival of India 2000&nbsp;– Kalamandalam Gopi]<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100715223556/http://www.mnjadv.com/ Making of a Maestro&nbsp;– Documentary on Kalamandalam Gopi]<br />
<br />
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}<br />
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}<br />
{{SangeetNatakAkademiFellowship}}<br />
{{Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Winners of Kerala}}<br />
{{authority control}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopi, Kalamandalam}}<br />
[[Category:Dancers from Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:1937 births]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]<br />
[[Category:Kathakali dancers]]<br />
[[Category:People from Palakkad district]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]<br />
[[Category:Malayali people]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male dancers]]<br />
[[Category:Educators from Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award]]</div>Ieagle