Kalamandalam  Gopi

About

He is known for the romantic and dramatic portrayal of the virtuous pachcha roles in Kathakali, notable among them being Nalan, Karnan and Rukmangadan. He is equally adept in essaying the choreographically denser roles like Bheeman (in the stories Kalyanasougandhikam or Bakavadham), Arjuna (Subhadraharanam) and Dharmaputrar (that's Yudhishthira in Kirmeeravadham). Nair, a Padma Shri awardee, also excels in the yellow-faced pazhuppu roles such as Balabhadra, and has of late also branched out to portray variety roles like the anti-heroic Kathi (like Ravana, Keechaka and Duryodhana) black-bearded Kaatalan (Kiratham), red-bearded Bali (Balivijayam) and even the semi-realistic looking Brahmanan in Santanagopalam.

Achivement

Gopi has also acted (without Kathakali make-up or costumes) in a couple of Malayalam feature films like Vanaprastham (directed by Shaji N. Karun) and Shantham (by Jayaraj). Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan made a documentary film of Gopi, entitled Kalamandalam Gopi. This was well reviewed and was shown at the International Film Festival of India in 2000, as well as at other festivals within India, in the West and in the Far East. 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. Gopi's select stage performances have been shot and brought out on a commercial basis on VCDs and DVDs, mainly by Vedika, a cultural forum based in Thrissur.

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