Ottam thullal

Ottam thullal is a vivacious, lampoonish, and sardonic art form from Kerala, India. It’s better and widely known as “poor man’s Kathakali”. It’s accoladed for its dynamic and exceptionally rare fusion of iconic art and sardonic morgant of the society making it one of the most tangible and acclaimed conventional arts of the region. Ottam thullal was germinated in a flash of a moment out of artistic,  imaginative and outright defiance in the 18th century. It was indigenously conceptualized by Kalakkath Kunjan Nambiar, most acclaimed, illustrious and celebrated Malayalam bard and lampoonist of Kerala.

It is believed that Kunjan Nambiar nodded off when he was wielding the Mizhavu for the Chakyar koothu. As per reports Chakyar on stage abused him in filthy language. Innately feeling  humiliated and despised, Nambiar invented and orchestrated the new  musical art form overnight. The very next day he performed the art form next to Chakyar’s stage enticing the whole crowd towards him with his acumen, sagacity, originality and musical prowess. That art which  germinated from this insult and belittling is titled ottam thullal.

Ottam thullal is technically patterned and structured for the entertainment of plebians. It’s entirely different from the upper crust and premium arts like koodiyattam and kathakali. A simplified Malayalam verification is employed on ottam thullal so that every audience can understand the joke and jibe in its clear intense. In ottam thullal the artist plays the multifarious roles : the troubadour, the vocalist and the dancer.

Principally all the spiels stem forth from the epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana but the anecdotist very slyly slips off to social criticism recounting the follies and foibles of human nature and duplicity of the royal community. The apparel of ottam thullal artist is a conspicuous and elucidated version of Kathakali ensemble. The performance is usually electrifying, expeditious  and accelerated. The artist is supported by a singer and musicians who repeat the verses and play the mridangam and ilathalam respectively.

Another innovative theatre technique incorporated in ottam thullal is giving an active role to the audience at random by giving an unpremeditated automatic soft touch tease to the audience making them laugh. That gives an added momentum to the total performance. Nambiyar lightheartedly tilts and teases them out of their smugness of the landlords (janmis), other renowned and affluent citizens including the king. He has not bothered to spare anyone from his stinging tongue including the elite group of people and Brahmins.