Carnatic musician Vaikom Vasudevan G Namboothiri passes away

Renowned Carnatic musician Vaikom Vasudevan G Namboothiri breathed his last on Tuesday (July 19). He was 86. Cremation will be held today at 2 pm near his residence Pulinchuvadu Tharamel Madathil in Vaikom, Kerala. Vaikom Vasudevan G Namboothiri is survived by his wife Leela Antharjanan and his sons Vaikom Jayachandran and Vaikom Devanand who are noted musicians.

Vaikom Vasudevan G Namboothiri studied at RLV College of Music & Fine Arts Tripunithura and was a classmate of the famous singer KJ Yesudas. Vaikom Vasudevan was a prominent figure in several Karnataka music stage programs and he has also served some years as a teacher.

Apart from being a noted Carnatic musician, Vaikom Vasudevan G Namboothiri has also acted in two films. He played a prominent role in the 1983 bilingual dance film ‘Ananda Bhairavi’ which was directed by Jandhyala under the story written by Kondamudi Sri Ramachandra Murthy. The film told the story of a dance teacher who runs into trouble when voice against the society that doesn't allow girls to perform the classical dance-drama art form 'Kuchipudi'.
Vaikom Vasudevan G Namboothiri also played a minor role in the action drama Malayalam film ‘Oru Kuprasidha Payyan’ which was released in the year 2018. The film was directed by Madupal and also featured the actors Tovino Thomas, Nimisha Sajayan, Anu Sithara, Saranya Ponvannan, Alencier Ley Lopez, and Sujith Shankar in significant roles. The film, which was based on sensational Sundari Amma murder case, received much adulation from the audience and also performed well at the box office.