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Magazine
Mark of an actor
K.K. GOPALAKRISHNAN
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After Kottakal Sivaraman, Margi Vijayakumar is probably the best actor to don female roles in Kathakali.
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Photos: K.K. Gopalakrishnan
Aesthetic sense: Margi Vijayakumar as Lalita in “Krimeeravadham”.
A December night in a Kerala village. An all-night Kathakali performance is one of the events at the local temple festival. Sitting on the ground on newspaper sheets, the audience comprises people of all age groups including several foreign tourists.
While mellifluous Sankarabharanam slowly rises in the air, on stage a beautiful woman is describing the charm of a handsome young man. Few notice an elephant and its mahout passing through.
On stage are Urvashi, the apsara, and her maid in “Kalakeyavadham”, one of the four faultless Kathakali plays of Kottayath Thampuran who transformed the art of Ramanattam into Kathakali. The play tells of how Urvashi falls in love with the Pandava Arjuna and, rejected by him, curses him.
Crucial role
Playing the crucial role of Urvashi was Margi Vijayakumar, who captivated the audience with his inimitable charm. Adhering to the rigid grammatical intricacies, he unveils the agonies of an ignored nymph. Within the limitations of Kathakali syntax, Vijayakumar stamps the character with his own mark.
The role of Urvashi is the litmus test for a Kathakali actor in female role, irrespective of their status. Mastery over controlled abhinaya, absolute rhythm sense and aharaya shobha are essentials to portray this role and others like Lalita in “Krimeeravadham”.
Vijayakumar started performing these roles since the mid-1980s, along with less technical but dramatically demanding roles like Damayanti (“Nalacharitam”), Mohini (“Rugmangadacharitam”), Poothana (“Poothanamoksham”) and Devayani (“Kacha-Devayani”).
Ask any Kathakali expert about the best actor for female roles and the answer will invariably be Margi Vijayakumar. Asked about his successor, Kottakkal Sivaraman once said, “Obviously Vijayakumar; he is unequivocally talented. I am glad that he is there to wear our mantle and the heroines of Kathakali would be aesthetically safe in his hands.”
Early days
Like most Kathakali artistes, Vijayakumar’s family does not have an artistic background.
“I am the seventh of my parents’ eight children. When Thonnakkal Peethambaran asan started Kathakali training near our house, there was pressure on my father, a school teacher who appreciated Kathakali, to send at least one of his sons. Obviously his choice was me; I was not good in school studies like my siblings,” reminisces Vijayakumar, adding “at that time I did not know that this would change my life.”
Training
Though this training came to a premature end, it led to a deep interest in the art. Later in 1975, after completing his high school, he landed at the Margi Kathakali School. “It must be my reluctance towards academics that watered the seeds of Kathakali sowed in me by Peethambaran asan,” reflects Vijayakumar.
At the Margi School, he was trained under Mamkulam Vishnu Namboodiri and Injakkattu Ramachandran Pillai, and made his formal debut as Rugmi of “Rugminiswayamvaram”. Slowly he started playing minor and secondary roles — both male and female roles— for the Margi troupe’s performances. Soon Mamkulam advised him to specialise in female roles. “In 1980, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair asan, the greatest artiste of our times, joined Margi as a visiting Professor. When I started training under him, he began to groom me in female roles that are technically more demanding with rigid grammar.”
Own interpretation
Vijayakumar was fortunate to perform in a few female roles with the master even before this stewardship. Gradually he began to give his own interpretative structure to lead female characters like Damayanthi, Sairandhri (“Keechakavadham”) and Mohini, which are not generally taught in class.
He exudes a thandava-oriented lasya, the speciality of female depictions of Kathakali. On stage his energy level is remarkably high, even when the body language is slow and subtle.
The challenge before Vijayakumar was to overcome the milestones marked by celebrities like Sivaraman and Kudamaloor. Vijayakumar gradually built an aesthetic aura of his own and brought dignity to every role. His characters create a highly individualistic play within the play and never supersede the perception of the playwright.
“After Sivaraman, definitely it is the era of Vijayakumar. His portrayals exude radiant vibrations to the co-actor to extract the best,” observes septuagenarian Kalamandalam Gopi.
Over the last decade and a half, the gradual retirement of Sivaraman from the celebrated Gopi-Sivaraman team saw the pair of Gopi-Margi Vijayakumar take centre stage.
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