V. Sambasivan


Velayudhan Sambasivan was a famous "Kadhaprasangam" artist of Kerala, India. He was born on 4 July 1929 in Chavara Thekkumbhagom in Kollam district, as the eldest son of Meloottu Velayudhan and Sarada. He had seven siblings. After schooling in his native village he joined Sree Narayana College, Kollam for higher studies where he was associated with the Communist Party of India and its student wing All [India Students' Federation|AISF]. His gift for singing and acting earned him the name of an artist very early in his life. He started his career as a teacher but quit the job to become a full-time artiste. With his inimitable style in story-telling, he soon became one of the most popular artists of Kerala with immense mass appeal. He presented more than 50 stories on stage including Shakespeare's Othello and Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Being a member of the Communist Party of India he was arrested and imprisoned in 1975, during the Indian Emergency declared by the then regime headed by Indira Gandhi. He died of lung cancer on 23 April 1996, aged 67.
V. Sambasivan received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1980. He has acted in a feature film 'Pallamkuzhi' and in a documentary on poet Kumaran Asan.
V. Sambasivan was married to Subhadra. His eldest son Vasantakumar Sambashivan, a Professor of Chemistry at Sree Narayana College, Kollam follows his father's way. Other than Vasanthakumar, he has three more sons named Prasanth, Jinaraj and Jesus, and a daughter named Aishwarya. Mrs. Subhadra Sambasivan died on 20 February 2021 aged 80. His house still contains valuable memories and his works. Also, his office is still maintained in the same style.
Discography
  1. Devatha
  2. Kochuseetha
  3. Magdalanamariyam
  4. Vazhakkula
  5. Vathsala
  6. Bharathastreekalthan Bhavashudhi
  7. Aayisha
  8. Tharavadinte Manam
  9. Puthankalavum Arivalum
  10. Rani
  11. Pattunoolum Vazhanarum
  12. Kudiozhikkal
  13. Premashilpi
  14. Thara
  15. Pareekshanam
  16. Pulliman
  17. Chandanakattil
  18. Aneesya
  19. Othello
  20. Antigone
  21. Kakkathampurati
  22. Melangi
  23. Annakarenina
  24. Romeo & Juliet
  25. Uyirthezhunelppu
  26. Don shanthamayi ozhukunnu
  27. Hena
  28. Kumaranasan
  29. Vilakk Vangam
  30. Nellinte Geetham
  31. Irupatham Noottandu
  32. Sree Narayana Gurudevan
  33. Nallabhoomi
  34. Rainbow
  35. Samkranthi
  36. Ghost
  37. Yanthram
  38. Cleopatra
  39. Karamazov Sahodaranamar
  40. Devalokam
  41. Prathi
  42. Divyatheertham
  43. Sanatta
  44. Deshasnehi
  45. Artham # Vyasanum Marxum
  46. Labham Labham
  47. 1857
  48. Z
  49. Jalasechanam
  50. Kuttavum Shikshayum
  51. Siddhartha
  52. Pathivrethayude Kamukan
  53. Ezhu Nimishangal
Sambasivan's last stage performance was on 7 March 1996, Pankulam Madan Nada temple, Attingal where he performed "Ezhu Nimishangal".

Troup

Sambashivan's "Kadhaprasangam" troup consisted of six members including him. Kochi Rajappan, Kadavoor Madhu and Venmony Vijayakumar, Changanassery Rajan, Babu, Yousef and more. He and his troup travelled across various countries and covered more than thousand stages.