Koodiyattam artiste Kapila Venu opened up about her unexpected tryst with cinema at the India Today Conclave in Kochi, during the session Koodiyattam: The Dance of Continuity.
Venu revealed that her acting journey began almost by chance when a Sri Lankan filmmaker discovered her on Instagram during the Covid-19 pandemic and cast her as the lead in the Tamil film Neelira, based on the Sri Lankan Civil War.
“My acting stint happened incidentally,” Venu said, recalling how the filmmaker came across her work online without knowing who she was. She said she was drawn to the opportunity out of curiosity rather than any desire to build a career in films.
Venu has since acted in two films, including a commercial project in which she played a villain. “I just did it because I loved to do things out of curiosity,” she said. She also spoke about the Malayalam film industry and named filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery as someone whose work she particularly admires.
For Venu, then, the screen may be an unexpected detour, but Koodiyattam remains home. She sees no contradiction between the two, as long as the stories that come her way are worth stepping away from tradition for.
Prominent session violin maestro Francis Xavier brought music to the India Today South Conclave in Kochi on Tuesday with a soulful performance during the session, Music to the Ears.
In an interview with India Today’s Marya Shakil, Lovely Professional University dean Sorabh Lakhanpal discusses the violence, arson and vandalism on campus and the protest that blocked National Highway 44.
In a special Get Real India report from Maharashtra, 55-year-old teacher Jeevan Mithari travels daily from Kale in Kolhapur to Dhangarwada village, covering the final 2.5 kilometres on foot through a dense forest known for leopards and bisons. Mithari has taught at the Zilla Parishad Primary School for 13 years. The school has only one student, eight-year-old Swara Bodke, who is currently studying in the third standard. If the remote village facility were to shut down, Swara would have to travel 11 kilometres away to attend school in Dhundawade village. With three years of service left before retirement, Mithari continues his daily commute, maintaining that every single student matters.
A heated debate erupted between the Congress and the BJP over the integrity of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission of India. Congress leader Salman Soz demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, claiming that opposition parties have lost confidence in the election watchdog. Salman Soz argued, 'The Election Commission of India has become a tool of the BJP and the RSS', raising serious concerns over voter deletions across states and questioning whether statutory procedures were followed. In sharp rebuttal, BJP national spokesperson Dr. Ajay Alok defended the Election Commission, accusing the Congress of persistent whataboutism and hypocrisy. He stated that the ongoing electoral roll revisions, including the removal of deceased and shifted voters, were legitimate administrative cleanup exercises conducted under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court.
