1muhammet237823 at 06:17, 5 May 2026

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{{Short description|Indian artist}}
{{Given name hatnote|Kapila|Venu|lang=Malayali}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kapila Venu
| birth_name =
| alias =
| image = Kapila Venu.jpg
| caption = Kapila Venu
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1982|02|03}}
| birth_place = [[Kothamangalam, Kerala|Kothamangalam]], [[Kerala]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| father = [[G. Venu]]
| mother = [[Nirmala Paniker]]
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation = [[Koodiyattam]], [[Nangiar koothu]] dancer
| known for =
| awards = {{bullet list|[[Kumar Gandharva Samman]] (2017)| [[Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar]] (2006)|[[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award]] (2025)}}
}}
'''Kapila Venu''' is a [[Koodiyattam]] and [[Nangiar Koothu]] artist from [[Kerala]], India. She received many awards including the [[Kumar Gandharva Samman]] by the government of [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar]] from the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], Government of India and [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award]] from [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi]], Government of Kerala.

==Biography==
Kapila Venu was born on 3 February 1982, at [[Kothamangalam, Kerala|Kothamangalam]] in Kerala.<ref name="SNA">{{cite web |title=Kapila Venu |url=https://sangeetnatak.gov.in/public/uploads/awardees/docs/1722338131_1%20(24).pdf |publisher=[[Sangeet Natak Akademi]]}}</ref> She is the only daughter of [[G. Venu]], a Koodiyattam artist and director of the Irinjalakuda Natana Kairali, and [[Nirmala Paniker]], an artist and researcher of [[Mohiniyattam]].<ref name="Mathrubhumi">{{cite news |title=ആട്ടക്കഥ - articles,features - Mathrubhumi Eves |url=http://www.mathrubhumi.com/mb4eves/online/malayalam/kerala/women/articles/features-article-139017 |work= |publisher=[[Mathrubhumi]] |date=9 August 2013 |archive-date=9 August 2013 |access-date=5 January 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130809120113/http://www.mathrubhumi.com/mb4eves/online/malayalam/kerala/women/articles/features-article-139017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Manorama">{{cite news |title=കുമാർ ഗന്ധർവ പുരസ്കാരം കപില വേണുവിന് |url=https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/announcements/2017/03/31/06-kapila-award.html |work=ManoramaOnline |agency=[[Malayala Manorama]] |archive-date=2025-01-05 |access-date=2025-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250105162924/https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/announcements/2017/03/31/06-kapila-award.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kapila spent her childhood at two places: the [[Lawrence School, Lovedale]], where her mother taught, and the 'Natana Kairali', founded by her father in [[Irinjalakuda]], [[Thrissur district]], for the promotion of ancient Kerala arts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-04 |title=The glow, well reflected - The New Indian Express |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/article157303.ece |access-date=2025-01-06 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304220355/http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/article157303.ece |url-status=dead |last=Ramanath|first=Renu}}</ref>

At Irinjalakuda, at the age of seven, Kapila started learning basics of Koodiyattam under [[Usha Nangiar]], and then detailed training under [[Ammannur Madhava Chakyar]], for nearly 10 years in the [[gurukula]] tradition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paul |first=G. S. |date=2017-04-29 |title=Kumar Gandharva awardee Kapila Venu is one of the youngest Koodiyattam artistes in India |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/continuing-a-thousand-year-old-tradition/article18305391.ece |access-date=2025-01-06 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=2025-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250104180947/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/continuing-a-thousand-year-old-tradition/article18305391.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> Later, her father Venu G and mother Nirmala Panicker became her [[guru]]s.<ref name="Samakalika Malayalam">{{cite news |last1=എന്‍.കെ |first1=അക്ഷയ |date=9 April 2024 |title=കലയുടെ ഭാഷ സാര്‍വത്രികം |url=https://www.samakalikamalayalam.com/malayalam-vaarika/reports/2024/Apr/09/performing-artist-kapila-venu-life-and-art |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250621073656/https://www.samakalikamalayalam.com/malayalam-vaarika/reports/2024/Apr/09/performing-artist-kapila-venu-life-and-art |archive-date=21 Jun 2025 |work=[[Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika|Samakalika Malayalam]] |language=ml}}</ref> It was her father's advice, supervision and discipline that helped her refine the skills she had learned under Ammannur and make her a performer.<ref name="Samakalika Malayalam"/> At the art school founded by her father, Natana Kairali, she trained under gurus like [[Kavungal Chathunni Panicker]], [[Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair]], and [[Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair]].<ref name="SNA"/> She studied [[Mohiniyattam]] under her mother Nirmala Panicker.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kapila Venu - Artist Profile - G5A |url=https://g5afoundation.org/artists/kapila-venu/ |website=g5afoundation.org |access-date=2025-01-05 |archive-date=2025-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250105164822/https://g5afoundation.org/artists/kapila-venu/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Samakalika Malayalam"/> [[Kalaripayattu]] was taught by Balan Gurukkal.<ref name="Samakalika Malayalam"/> She also studied under Japanese dancer [[Min Tanaka]] for six years.<ref name="Samakalika Malayalam"/> Later, she has performed in two of his choreographies, ''Rite of the Forest'' (2005) and ''Thottangal'' (2007).<ref name="esplanade">{{cite web |title=In Conversation with Akram Khan and Kapila Venu - Esplanade |url=https://www.esplanade.com/whats-on/festivals-and-series/festivals/2024/kalaa-utsavam/programmes/in-conversation-with-akram-khan-and-kapila-venu#artist-information |website=www.esplanade.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Bharat-s-tiwari-photography-IMG 6635 June 11, 2017.jpg|thumb|Kapila during a Koodiyattam performance]]
Kapila has performed mostly in Europe and Japan, including performances in Sweden, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> Kapila was only six and a half years old when she performed a Kootiyattam role on a stage in England.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> She was only 17 when she performed a full-length Kootiyattam role in Sweden.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> She is also a non-traditional performer of [[Nangiar koothu]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krithika |first1=R. |title=An interview with well-known Koodiyattam artiste Kapila Venu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/an-interview-with-well-known-koodiyattam-artiste-kapila-venu/article26311817.ece |work=The Hindu |date=19 February 2019 |language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Nair |first1=Malini |title=Kapila Venu is giving a new meaning to the old dance form, Nangiarkoothu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/kapila-venu-is-is-one-of-the-most-sought-after-artistes-in-the-contemporary-koodiyattam-scene/article22331625.ece |work=The Hindu |date=30 December 2017 |language=en-IN}}</ref> She was also a part of a multi-year eight-part project titled ''The Set Up'', directed by dancer-choreographer duo Wally Cardona and Jennifer Lacey, at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Art Center in New York.<ref name="Open The Magazine">{{cite news |last1=Nair |first1=Malini |title=Kapila Venu: A Master of Restraint |url=https://openthemagazine.com/art-culture/dance/kapila-venu-a-master-of-restraint/ |work=Open The Magazine |date=21 June 2017 |language=en |archive-date=5 January 2025 |access-date=5 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250105164821/https://openthemagazine.com/art-culture/dance/kapila-venu-a-master-of-restraint/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Scherr |first1=Apollinaire |title=The Set Up: Kapila Venu, New York — review |url=https://www.ft.com/content/1610d24e-3c4e-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0 |website=Financial Times |date=27 June 2016}}</ref> She also participated in the World Theatre Project led by [[Peter Oskarson]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-01 |title=Kumar Gandharva Award for Koodiyattam exponent Kapila Venu |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2017/Apr/01/kumar-gandharva-award-for-koodiyattam-exponent-kapila-venu-1588435.html |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en |archive-date=2025-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250106022433/https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2017/Apr/01/kumar-gandharva-award-for-koodiyattam-exponent-kapila-venu-1588435.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kapila choreographed and performed Koodiyattam in the film 'Meghadoot', written and directed by Rahat Mahajan.<ref name="Samakalika Malayalam"/> She is the first to perform the story of Tamil folk hero [[Madurai Veeran]] in the Nangyar koothu style.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Paul |first1=G. S. |title=Madurai Veeran's story in Nangiarkoothu style for the first time |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/madurai-veerans-story-in-nangiarkoothu-style-for-the-first-time/article68005636.ece |work=The Hindu |date=29 March 2024 |language=en-IN |archive-date=4 October 2024 |access-date=5 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241004024623/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/madurai-veerans-story-in-nangiarkoothu-style-for-the-first-time/article68005636.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> In her dance performance titled ''Parvati Viraham'' ([[Parvati]]'s longing), Kapila Venu integrates her feminist politics into this traditional art.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sahai |first1=Shrinkhla |title=Kapila Venu's "Parvati Viraham": Ungendering Kutiyattam |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/kapila-venus-parvati-viraham-ungendering-kutiyattam/article28087126.ece |work=The Hindu |date=20 June 2019 |language=en-IN}}</ref>

Kapila, the director of the Natanakairali Research and Performing Centre for Traditional Arts, is also a visiting faculty at the [[National School of Drama]] and the [[Intercultural Theatre Institute]] in Singapore.<ref>{{cite news |title=A life less ordinary |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/a-life-less-ordinary/article4340367.ece |work=The Hindu |date=24 January 2013 |language=en-IN}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
In 2017 Kapila received the [[Kumar Gandharva Samman]] by the government of [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref name="Manorama"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Paul |first1=G. S. |title=Kumar Gandharva awardee Kapila Venu is one of the youngest Koodiyattam artistes in India |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/continuing-a-thousand-year-old-tradition/article18305391.ece |work=The Hindu |date=29 April 2017 |language=en-IN |archive-date=4 January 2025 |access-date=5 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250104180947/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/continuing-a-thousand-year-old-tradition/article18305391.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> She has also received the Yuva Kalabharti Award from Bharat Kalachar in Chennai, the Sanskriti Award from the [[Sanskriti Museums|Sanskriti Pratishthan]] in Delhi, and the [[Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar]] from the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]] for the year 2006.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar |url=http://sangeetnatak.org/sna/yuva2006.htm |access-date=2025-01-05 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023635/http://sangeetnatak.org/sna/yuva2006.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Nov 24 |last2=Ali |first2=2010-Syed Asim |title=Manipur poet among five Sanskriti Award winners |url=http://archive.asianage.com/ideas/manipur-poet-among-five-sanskriti-award-winners-953 |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=The Asian Age |language=en |archive-date=2025-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250106022743/http://archive.asianage.com/ideas/manipur-poet-among-five-sanskriti-award-winners-953 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2025 March, she received [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award]] from [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi]], Government of Kerala.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Service |first=Express News |date=2025-03-18 |title=Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi awards, fellowships announced |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2025/Mar/18/kerala-sangeetha-nataka-akademi-awards-fellowships-announced |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

==Works on her==
''Kapila'' a documentary film directed by Sanju Surendran explores the life and work of Kapila Venu.<ref name="esplanade"/> It won the National Award for Best Cultural Film at the [[62nd National Film Awards]].<ref name="esplanade"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Koodiyattam dancers]]
[[Category:Dancers from Kerala]]
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Artists from Kerala]]
[[Category:Kothamangalam, Kerala]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award]]

Kapila Venu - Revision history

1muhammet237823 at 06:17, 5 May 2026