Kalamandalam Geethanandan

Kalamandalam Geethanandan was a renowned artist who beautified the art of Thullal. He played a major role in popularizing this art form. It was in 1974 that he joined Kalamandalam as a thullal student. He is from a humble family; it was E Sreedharan, the Metroman who helped him to join Kalamandalam. He made his first performance at the age of nine. After completing the studies at Kalamandalam, he joined the institution as a teacher and later became the head of the department. He was the first artist to perform this art in Paris and other foreign countries. He also performed notable roles in nearly many Malayalam movies. He did good roles in Thoovalkkottaram, Manassinakkare, and many more.He also performed on more than 5,000 stages across the country and was also a tutor of Ottanthullal at Kerala Kalamandalam for decades.

He also won Veerasringala and Thullal Kalanidhi award. He was the first artist to present a rendition of thullal in a musical format. He also won several awards at Sangeetha Nataka Academy. He was suddenly collapsed while doing his performance in Mahavishnu temple in Kerala. A renowned artist who will be remembered through his performance, forever.