History of Kutiyattam - Interview with Kapila Venu

Kapila Venu is an exponent of the Kutiyattam art form, which is one of the oldest forms of world theater and the only surviving tradition of Sanskrit theater in the world. She is a disciple of the legendary Kutiyattam maestro the late Padmabhushan Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar. Kapila hails from a family of artists. Her father G. Venu is a performer and scholar of Kutiyattam and her mother Nirmala Panicker is a well known exponent and scholar of the Mohiniyattam dance form.

Along with her parents, Kapila runs the Natanakairali school at Irinjalakkuda, Thrissur. Natanakairal is a research and training center on Kerala's traditional art forms. She is also a visiting faculty at the National School of Drama, New Delhi.