Kala, known professionally as Kala Master, is an Indian choreographer. She is the director of the Indian reality dance talent show, Maanada Mayilada – where she is one of the three judges.[1] She was awarded the National Film Award for Best Choreography in 2000 for her folk dance sequences in the Malayalam film, Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal.[2][3] She is also classically trained in Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak dance forms.
Kala Master | |
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| Born | Kala 25 April 1971 Chennai, India |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouses |
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| Children | Vidyuth (b.2007) |
| Relatives |
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Career
editA trained classical dancer with the Nritya Kalanithi award for Bharatanatyam in 1990, Kala, a school drop out, entered the film industry through the influence of her brother-in-law, the choreographer Raghuram. Making her debut as an assistant choreographer at the age of 12 in 1982, she got a break during the making of Punnagai Mannan in 1986 starring Kamal Haasan and Revathi, as director K. Balachander suggested Kala fill in for the busy Raghuram.[4] She was then chosen again by Balachandar as the lead choreographer for Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal (1989).
She has since worked in over 4000 songs in various languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada, Oriya, Bengali, English, Italian and Japanese. She has referred to the "Kozhi Koovum Neram achu" song in Azhagan as one of her leading pieces of work and also referred actress Bhanupriya as her favorite dancer. She was handed the opportunity to choreograph the Miss World 1996 Beauty Pageant held at Bangalore for which she received a special award of excellence. Moreover, she notes that a stage event in Malaysia featuring Prashanth and seven heroines, propelled her into fame. She was awarded the National Film Award for Best Choreography in 2000 for her folk dance sequences in the Malayalam film, Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal.[5] She became the first to start a cinematic dance school named Kala's Kalalaya which has five branches in Chennai. She manages it along with her sisters. Kala's merit is in popularising a peculiar dance form, cobbled together with borrowings from classical, Indian folk, bhangra and western steps.[6] She also won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Choreographer for her work in Chandramukhi.
She has since gone to specialise in directing dance reality shows, notably Maanada Mayilada, which has finished nine seasons.[7] She is currently judging dance reality show Odi Vilayadu Papa in Kalaignar TV.
Selected filmography
editChoreographer
edit| Movie | Song | year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punnagai Mannan | Choreographer | 1986 | [8] |
| Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal | 1989 | [9] | |
| Chandramukhi | 2005 | [10] | |
| Darbar | 2020 | [11] | |
| Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal | Choreographer / Actor | 2022 | [12] |
Singer
edit| Movie | Song | year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thiru Vi Ka Poonga | "Naalai Ellam Nalam" | 2015 | [13] |
Personal life
editKala was born into a family of seven girls and revealed that she was brought up in a one-room house during her childhood. An elder sister, Jayanthi, first started dancing and acted as heroine in two films – Uthiripookkal and Poottatha Pookkal. Kala’s second sister Girija learned Bharatanatyam at Kalakshetra; and went on to work with choreographers Thangam and later Raghuram Master, whom she married afterwards, and also become an independent choreographer. Kala was the sixth daughter, while Brinda, a leading choreographer, is her youngest sister.[14]
One of her nephews, Prasanna Sujit, is also a film choreographer. Her niece Master Gayathri Raghuram, daughter of late Raghuram Master and her sister Girija is also a choreographer and an actor. She has also introduced another niece Keerthi, daughter of Jayanthi Master and wife of actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, as an anchor in her dance reality show Manada Mayilada.
Kala was previously married to UAE-based businessman, Govindarajan in 1997, who is the brother of actress Sneha. Kala had initially shifted to Dubai after her marriage but problems prompted her to return to Chennai and take up choreographing again. The pair got divorced in 1999, and soon after Kala and Brindha controversially made derogatory comments about Sneha's dancing ability to a magazine.[15]
She married Mahesh in 2004. It was a love marriage. The couple has a son Vidyuth, born in 2007.
Television
edit| Year | Show | Role | Notes | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Jodi Number One (season 1) | Herself | Judge | STAR Vijay |
| Super Dancer | Herself | Judge | Amrita TV | |
| 2007 | Super Dancer 2 | Herself | Judge | Amrita TV |
| Super Dancer JUNIOR | Herself | Judge | Amrita TV | |
| 2008 | Odi Vilayadu Papa | Herself | Director/ Judge | Kalaignar TV |
| 2008–2013 | Maanada Mayilada (1-8 seasons) | Herself | Director / Judge | Kalaignar TV |
| 2014 | D 4 Dance (Season 1) | Herself | Judge | Mazhavil Manorama (Malayalam) |
| 2022 | Pottikku Potti – R U Ready | Herself | Judge | Colors Tamil |
References
edit- ^ The dancing queen of Tamil TV – Rediff.com Movies Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Movies.rediff.com (13 July 2010). Retrieved 2013-11-30.
- ^ "48th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ 48th National Film Awards Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.nic.in
- ^ In her footsteps. The Hindu (6 October 2003). Retrieved 2013-11-30.
- ^ 48th National Film Awards Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. nic.in
- ^ Metro Plus Pondicherry / Interview : Master of moves. The Hindu (29 October 2005). Retrieved 2013-11-30.
- ^ Metro Plus Kochi / People : She makes them dance to her tunes. The Hindu (27 October 2008). Retrieved 2013-11-30.
- ^ Umashanker, Sudha (6 October 2003). "In her footsteps". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 January 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Cinema Rendezvous – Come lets date- Kala Master & All That Jazz". Time Out. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "Rajnikant, Kamal Haasan adjudged Best Actors". Screenindia. 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ "Rajnikant, Kamal Haasan adjudged Best Actors". Screenindia. 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ "நயன்தாரா படம் மூலம் நடிகையாக அறிமுகமாகும் கலா மாஸ்டர்". maalaimalar.com (in Tamil). 22 October 2021. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ Naalai Ellam Nalamthane Song was sung by me 😳 - Kala Master Revealed {!} #chandramukhi2 (in Tamil). Kumudam online. 31 August 2023. Event occurs at 25:50 to 27:10. Retrieved 1 October 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Ethiraj, Gopal. (21 September 2009) Sunday celebrity:Kala Master: she is ‘sagala Kala vallavi’ Archived 3 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Asian Tribune. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
- ^ Tamil movies : Dancing sisters’ war dance against Sneha Archived 6 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Behindwoods.com (7 July 2006). Retrieved 2013-11-30.
External links
edit- Kala Master at IMDb