Filmmaker Jeo Baby is relishing his new role these days. That of an actor in filmmaker PR Arun’s play, Hand of God, an interactive production, which holds a mirror to gender violence and sexuality.
Kumar Sunil, who excelled playing the despicable, patriarchal husband in Feminichi Fathima, has been taking theatre to homes, literally. 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 in Madan Moksham
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Pramod Veliyanad, a solid performer in character roles on the big screen, has meanwhile been busy travelling across Kerala over the last year as the protagonist in the State award-winning amateur theatre production, Madan Moksham, a hard-hitting take on religion and worship.
Darshana Rajendran has her hands full in cinema but also squeezes in time for theatre, recent ones being Bye Bye Bypass, directed by actor Roshan Mathew, and Under the Mangosteen Tree by Perch, Chennai.
They are among the handful of actors in Malayalam cinema who transition between cinema and theatre, just like some of the finest actors of yesteryears. Ahead of World Theatre Day (March 27), we catch up with a few of them to understand what draws them to the stage.
Pramod Veliyanad
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“Cinema and theatre make me happy, but theatre gives me more satisfaction,” says Pramod, last seen in the films Koodothram and Vilayath Budha. Madan Moksham is nearing 80 stages, and with more shows scheduled in the coming days, the play by Marutham Theatres, Alappuzha, based on B Jeyamohan’ novel, will set a new record in the history of amateur productions in Kerala. “This is my first amateur work as I have been doing professional theatre for 28 years since the late 90s. Even when I got solid roles in cinema, I missed theatre and so I had approached Marutham seeking a role in one of their productions and that has changed my life,” says Pramod, who has at least six films ready for release besides several movies under production, including Tharun Moorthy’s next.
Kumar Sunil
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Sunil, who has been doing theatre since the early 2000s, says, “Irrespective of the fact that cinema gives you more popularity, I cherish being on stage. I get restless when I don’t do theatre for some time,” says Kumar, whose latest release is B Unnikrishnan’s Nivin Pauly-starrer Prathichaya. He has been staging three one-act plays – Kumaru, Velichenna and Dineshante Katha mostly in his home town and now in Kochi. He started the practice in 2001 and went on to complete 1001 shows before he graduated to bigger productions and later cinema. He revived it late last year.
“The best part is after I staged Kumaru at an apartment in Kochi, a few residents have shown interest in theatre. I am planning rehearsals soon,” Sunil says. [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
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Theatre is home for Kasaragod-native Anagha Narayananan, who plays a prominent role in Hand of God. The actor, who made her movie debut with the delightful family drama, Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam, has been doing theatre since her school days. “I loved acting and since cinema was out of reach I started doing theatre, with the support of my father, C Narayanan, also an actor. It was while doing amateur theatre and street plays that I got the opportunity in cinema. I didn’t do theatre for six years when I started doing films. But once I moved to Kochi looking for roles of substance, I also sought chances to work with good theatre groups. That’s when I attended the audition for Hand of God. I wanted to associate with the work so much that I was ready to work even in the production department if I didn’t get a role,” says Anagha.
Anagha Narayanan in Hand of God
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The actor says she can’t compare the acting process in theatre and cinema. “I believe we explore ourselves in both format and I enjoy both. Also, I have always got respect for being a theatre artiste from cinema folks,” she says.
According to Jeo, Hand of God has fulfilled his dream. “Having left theatre behind after my college days, I hardly watched any play in the last 10 years. Bye Bye Bypass changed that. I craved to act and even told Roshan to give me a chance. That was when Arun called me,” says Jeo. Arun adds, “We were looking for someone like Jeo. That’s when we thought, why not him.”
Jeo Baby in Hand of God
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Jeo adds that it is the process towards presenting the play that excites him more. “I love the camaraderie among the members of a troupe, be it while sharing tea or having discussions. I am still close to friends from my theatre days.” With six shows behind him, Jeo feels that he is improving as an actor. “Your craft gets fine-tuned over time and that is what I love about this art. Especially when this production is not a conventional one. The thrill lies in doing it live. More the people, more the thrill, more the responsibility.”
As someone who enjoys both theatre and cinema, Roshan observes that everything started for him on stage. “It has taught me a lot. And when I don’t do theatre, I miss that a lot,” says the actor whose first directorial venture was A Very Normal Family (AVNF). “I was forced to direct the play since no one else was ready. But I wanted to direct Bye Bye Bypass since that is a personal story. I enjoyed being the storyteller, especially when I got an interesting group to work with,” he says, referring to the bevy of actors from the Malayalam industry who are part of it — Darshana, Aswathy Manoharan, Leona Lishoy, Rajesh Madhavan, Nilja K Baby, Syamaprakash MS, Vaisakh Shankar, Anoop Mohandas etc besides Santhy Balachandran and Divya Prabha who were part of some stagings. The play has covered 16 stages. “Whether they have done theatre or cinema was not the criteria for choosing them. I wanted artistes who could bring out childishness on stage,” he adds. Actor Sruthi Ramachandran is one of the writers of the play.
Meanwhile, Roshan misses being an actor on stage. “I haven’t done that for a long time. The team won’t let me act in Bye Bye Bypass! I am planning a new production and will make sure that I get a role. But I have to convince someone to direct it.”
It was her friendship with Roshan that led Leona to become a part of his productions. In fact, in both plays, she stepped in when an actor had to leave in between due to other commitments. “I wanted to do theatre some day, especially after I was inspired by the stories Roshan used to tell me about his theatre days. That was a time when we both were trying to find our feet in the industry. My only connection with theatre was that my father [actor Lishoy] used to run a theatre company that did some grand productions. Working with Roshan and Darshana made me realise that it is so much fun. It took time for me to own the character because I was not part of the character development process.”
A scene from Hand of God
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Meanwhile there has been a spurt in the number of theatre workshops and several actors are signing up for them. “With so many fresh talents around, the existing actors have realised that they will have to sharpen their skill,” says Arun, who has directed Finals and the web series, Pharma.
Published – March 26, 2026 03:41 pm IST
