Filmmaker Jio Baby is enjoying his new role these days. An actor in filmmaker PR Arun’s play, hand of godAn interactive production that mirrors gender violence and sexuality.

Kumar Sunil, who played the hateful, patriarchal husband Feminichi FatimaLiterally taking theater to homes. The Malappuram native is currently staging one-act plays in apartments and small venues in and around Kochi city, even as he is doing films and short films.

Pramod Veliyanad, a solid performer in character roles on the big screen, has meanwhile been busy traveling across Kerala since last year as the hero in a state award-winning amateur theater production. Madan MokshamA strong attack on religion and worship.

Darshana Rajendran has her hands full with cinema, but she also makes time for theatre, recently goodbye bypassDirected by actor Roshan Mathew, and under the mangosteen tree By Perch, Chennai.

He is one of the handful of actors in Malayalam cinema who switches between cinema and theater like some of the best actors of the past. Ahead of World Theater Day (27 March), we’ll meet some of them to understand what attracts them to the stage.

Pramod Veliyanad Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Pramod, who was last seen in films, says, “Cinema and theater make me happy, but theater gives me more satisfaction.” Coodothram And vilayatha buddha. Madan Moksham With close to 80 stages, and more shows scheduled in the coming days, Marutham Theatre’s, Alappuzha’s play, based on B Jeyamohan’s novel, will set a new record in the history of amateur productions in Kerala. “This is my first amateur work because I have been doing professional theater for 28 years since the 90s. Even when I got solid roles in cinema, I missed theater and so I had approached Marutham looking for a role in one of his productions and it has changed my life,” says Pramod, who has at least six films ready for release, besides several in production, including Tharun Murthy’s next. Is included.

Kumar Sunil Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Sunil, who has been doing theater since the early 2000s, says, “Despite the fact that cinema gives you more popularity, I love being on stage. When I don’t do theater for a while I get restless,” says Kumar, whose latest release is B Unnikrishnan’s Nivin Poly-starrer. ghosting. He is staging three one-act plays – Kumaru, Velichenna And dineshante story Mostly in my hometown and now in Kochi. He started practicing in 2001 and completed 1001 shows before graduating to bigger productions and later cinema. They revived it late last year.

“The best part is after I staged Kumaru In an apartment in Kochi, some residents have shown interest in theatre. I am planning rehearsals soon,” says Sunil. [He will stage Kumaru, written by Emil Madhavi, on March 28 and 29 at Andhra Cultural Association Hall, Panampilly Nagar, Kochi, at 7pm. Contact: 8136879557]

Anagha Narayanan Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The theater is home to Kasaragod native Anagha Narayanan, who plays the lead role in hand of god. The actor, who made his film debut with the delightful family drama, Chintalajch NischayamShe has been doing theater since her school days. “I loved acting and since cinema was out of reach, I started doing theater with the support of my father, C. Narayanan, who is an actor. It was while doing amateur theater and street plays that I got opportunities in cinema. I didn’t do theater for six years when I started doing films. But once I moved to Kochi in search of meaningful roles, I also looked for opportunities to work with good theater groups. That’s when I took part in auditions. hand of god. I wanted to be involved in work to such an extent that if I did not get a role, I was ready to work in the production department as well,” says Anagha.

Anagha Narayanan hand of god
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The actress says that she cannot compare the acting process in theater and cinema. She says, “I believe we find ourselves in both the formats and I enjoy both. Also, being a theater artiste, I have always got respect from cinema people.”

According to Jio, hand of god Have fulfilled your dream. “After leaving theater after my college days, I have hardly seen any plays in the last 10 years. goodbye bypass changed it. I wanted to act and I even asked Roshan to give me a chance. Then Arun called me,” says Jio. “We were looking for someone like Jio,” says Arun. Then we thought, why not him.”

live baby in hand of god
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Jio says that it is the process of presenting the play that excites him more. “I love the camaraderie among the troupe members, be it while sharing tea or discussing. I am still close to friends from my theater days.” After his six shows, Jio feels that he is improving as an actor. “Your craft gets better with time and that’s what I love about this art. Especially when it’s not a traditional production. The thrill is in doing it live. The more people, the more thrill, the more responsibility.”

As someone who enjoys both theater and cinema, Roshan believes that everything started on stage for him. “It has taught me a lot. And when I don’t do theatre, I miss it a lot,” says the actor, whose directorial debut a very normal family (AVNF). “I was forced to direct the play because no one else was willing. But I wanted to direct goodbye bypass Since that is a personal story. I enjoyed being a storyteller, especially when I got an interesting group to work with,” he says, referring to the many actors from the Malayalam industry who are a part of it – Darshan, Ashwathi Manoharan, Leona Lishoy, Rajesh Madhavan, Nilja K Baby, Shyamprakash MS, Vaishakh Shankar, Anup Mohandas etc. besides Santhi Balachandran and Divya Prabha who were part of some stagings. The play covered 16 stages. ‘Whether he has done theater or cinema. Criteria for selecting them. I wanted actors who could bring childishness to the stage.” Actor Shruti Ramachandran is one of the writers of the play.

Meanwhile, Roshan misses being an actor on stage. “I haven’t done this in a long time. The team won’t let me act.” goodbye bypass! I am planning a new production and will make sure I get a role. But I have to convince someone to direct it.

It was because of her friendship with Roshan that Leona became a part of his productions. In fact, in both plays he stepped in when an actor had to drop out midway due to other commitments. “I wanted to do theater someday, especially when I was inspired by the stories that Roshan used to tell me about his theater days. That was a time when we were both trying to find our feet in the industry. My only connection to theater was my father [actor Lishoy] Ran a theater company which put on some grand productions. Working with Roshan and Darshana made me realize how much fun it is. It took me time to play this character because I was not a part of the character development process.

a scene from hand of god
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Meanwhile, the number of theater workshops has increased and many artists are signing up for them. “With so much new talent coming in, existing actors have realized they have to hone their skills,” says director Arun. Final and web series, Pharma.

published – March 26, 2026 03:41 PM IST