Kalabhavan ( lit. "The House of Arts"), also known as Cochin Kalabhavan, is a centre for learning performing arts in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, India. ''Kalabhavan'' is notable and known for being the first organized performing mimicry group in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and which popularised the art of mimicry in the state of Kerala. Ever since its founding, Kalabhavan has served as a grooming centre for acting aspirants. Hence, Kalabhavan has contributed numerous actors as well as film directors to Malayalam cinema. Founded on 3 September 1969, by C.M.I. priest Fr. Abel, with the help of K. K. Antony, a music teacher, and K. J. Yesudas, then a budding playback singer, started Kalabhavan as the Christian Arts Club to promote Christian music, what Kalabhavan initially took up was producing Christian religious songs. Later they moved on to ''Ganamela'' (Concerts for film songs). Mimicry performances of individual artists were used as 'fillers' in between stage programs. Later, mimicry was organized as a team event to form the now popular ''Mimics Parade''. The professional mimicry troupe of Kalabhavan began with a team of 6 consisting of Siddique,

Lal Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...

, Anzar, K. S. Prasad Varkkichan and Rahman (comedy actor). It was this team that invented ''Mimics Parade'' in the present form. ''Harisree'' is the other notable mimics troupe in Kerala. In 2015, Kalabhavan opened its

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

centre at

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...

Notable alumni

(In chronological order) * Siddique, director *

, actor and director * Zainuddin *

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasional ...

Kalabhavan Rahman Kalabhavan Rahman is a Malayalam film actor in Kerala. Career Rahman started his film acting career in 1986 with a unimportant role. Reghunath Paleri directed the title Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare. He hails from Aluva in Kerala. Rahman is al ...

Harisree Ashokan Harisree Ashokan is an Indian actor and director who is known for his comedy roles in Malayalam films. Ashokan has acted in more than 200 Malayalam films. He started his career as a mimicry artist in the troupe Harisree and then worked in Kala ...

Dileep Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known by his stage name Dileep, is an Indian actor, producer, and businessman who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has acted in more than 150 films and has won several awards, inc ...

Nadirshah Nadhirshah is an Indian film director, music composer, singer, lyricist, actor, mimicry artist, comedian, and television host, who works in Malayalam films, television and stage. He has done several supporting roles in Malayalam cinema. His area ...

Kalabhavan Abi Habeeb Muhammed (28 February 1965 – 30 November 2017), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Abi, was an Indian Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist, comedian, actor, and Dubbing (filmmaking), dubbing artist. Personal life Abi was ...

* N. F. Varghese *

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...

Salim Kumar Salim Kumar (born 10 October 1969) is an Indian actor, comedian, director and writer in Malayalam cinema. Mostly known for his comic and comedy roles, Salim Kumar is considered one of the best and most prominent comedians in the history of Mal ...

Kalabhavan Shajohn Shaji John, professionally credited by his stage name Kalabhavan Shajohn is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works primarily in Malayalam cinema. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, Kochi. Making his debut in 1 ...

Narayanankutty Narayanan Kutty or Kalabhavan Narayanankutty is a Malayalam film actor. He has acted in more than 300 films. He handles mainly comedy roles. Background Narayanan Kutty was born Ernakulam. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan ...

Thesni Khan Thesni Khan is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films, television, and stage. She made her acting debut through '' Daisy'' in 1988. She is widely known for the portrayal of character roles. In 2020, she contested in the second season ...

Hakim Rawther Hakim Rawther, known mononymously as Hakim, was an Indian actor and film maker in Malayalam cinema. He was known for his directional debut ''The Guard'' (2001), which is the world's first film with only a single actor in the cast. He had also acte ...

Bindu Panicker Bindu Panicker is an Indian actress who has more than 200 films to her credit. She has played both comedy and character roles in Malayalam cinema. She won the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress in 2001 for Soothradharan. Sh ...

Machan Varghese M. L. Varghese (1960 – 3 February 2011), popularly known by stage name Machan Varghese, was a Malayalam film actor and mimicry artist. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan (house of arts) and debuted as an actor through ''K ...

* Sujatha Mohan *

Kalabhavan Navas Kalabhavan Navas is an Indian stage, television, and film actor, singer, comedian, and mimicry artist.introduced to films by veteran director Balukiriyath in the film mimics action 500, along with 38 mimicry artists He is known for his roles i ...

* Rafi of

Rafi Mecartin Rafi may refer to: Places * Rafi, Iran, a city in Khuzestan Province * Rafi, Abadan, a village in Khuzestan Province * Rafi, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Niger State Other uses * Rafi (name), a name of Arabic origin * Rafi (political par ...

duo * Mecartin of

duo * Berny of Berny-Ignatius duo *

Kalabhavan Haneef Kalabhavan Haneef is an Indian actor and mimicry artist in Malayalam cinema. He made his debut with the film, Sandesham (1991). Personal life Haneef started his mimicry activity while his schooling, later started his career as a sales person ...

References

{{authority control Indian impressionists (entertainers) Arts of Kerala Culture of Kochi Performing arts education in India Art schools in India 1969 establishments in Kerala