Originating in Kerala, Kathakali is a traditional dance-drama known for its vibrant, expressive masks and costumes. This art form, dating back to the 17th century, is deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and local folklore. Kathakali masterfully weaves together music, dance, and acting, predominantly narrating tales from the Indian epics ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata/’ What distinguishes this performance is its unique combination of face painting and intricate headgear crafting, setting it apart as a captivating art form.
Traditionally, Kathakali masks are crafted from papier-mache, wood, and cloth, painted with natural dyes. To accentuate the clarity of the mudras that are done by the performers, some characters embellish their left fingers with elongated nails made of steel or silver. Performers also frame their faces with a distinctive white border, known as Chutti, traditionally crafted from thick drawing sheets. This Chutti serves to draw the audience’s focus to the performer’s inner facial expressions and eyes.
Barbara doing chutti on Sadanam Balakrishnan
Historically, up until the 1960s, Chuttis were fashioned from rice paper. In Kathakali, each colour and design serves as a visual lexicon, conveying deep-seated cultural meanings and character traits. Green, often used in the ‘Pacha’ masks, is emblematic of nobility, righteousness, and divinity, reflecting the virtuous nature of characters like gods and heroes. Red, frequently seen in the ‘Kathi’ masks, symbolises passion and aggression, often used to portray villainous or anti-hero characters. The colour black, typically used in ‘Thadi’ masks, represents characters that are mystical, ferocious, or outside the moral constraints of society, like hunters and forest dwellers.
Kathakali Pacha - Artist:-Kalabharathi Harikumar
Non Western Makeup Kathakali Makeup Completed Look Makeup extended into headpiece
The Kathakali masks are adorned with intricate crowns and headgears, featuring large, bulging eyes, and elaborate designs on the cheeks and forehead. Floral and vine patterns grace the headgear and mask edges, while stylised eyebrows, mustaches and beards enhance the facial features.
Kathakali Vesham - Red Beard
Gold embellishments and decorative jewels add to their opulence. The masks incorporate mythological symbols, including serpents or divine forms, and skillfully represent character traits, portraying goodness or satvik in green, and evoking evil or tamsik in red or black.
Three Nights of Kathakali
The Kathakali mask-painting tradition reflects an entire philosophy of aesthetics and performance that Kerala’s artisans have preserved for centuries. The making of each mask or facial design is guided by the Navarasas, the nine fundamental emotions of Indian classical arts - sringara (love), vira (valor), bibhatsa (disgust), adbhuta (wonder), bhayanaka (fear), raudra (anger), shanta (peace), karuna (compassion) and hasya (humour). Kathakali performers undergo rigorous training to master how each rasa must be expressed not only through movement but through micro-expressions that the vivid mask painting amplifies. The face thus becomes a living canvas, where colour, line and gesture collaborate to narrate complex stories without words.
Navarasam in kathakali
The craft is highly detailed, with patterns for eyes, nose, jawlines and cheek motifs differing for heroes, anti-heroes, sages, demons and animal-spirits. Artisans traditionally train within families or under seasoned gurus, learning how each brushstroke contributes to the psychological depth of a character. The preparation process is slow and meditative, as pigments are mixed freshly, often using coconut oil as a base and applied in layers to create volume and luminosity. Preparing the Chutti itself is a specialised skill, requiring patience to build its multilayered structure that elegantly outlines the face.
Kathakali Face Paint
While modern materials like acrylics and synthetic adhesives have entered contemporary practice, many traditional institutions and master artists still adhere to natural substances, ensuring continuity with older methods. Workshops and cultural centres across Kerala now teach mask-making and facial painting, enabling wider appreciation and involvement. This revival is significant at a time when younger generations are rediscovering traditional arts. The Kathakali mask-painting tradition thus stands not only as an aesthetic marvel but as a testament to Kerala’s living heritage, continually adapting while retaining its cultural essence.
Traditionally, all roles, including female characters, were performed by men. However, in recent years, women have also started training and performing in Kathakali.
Kathakali
In contemporary times, Kathakali has found a prominent place in urban settings, often showcased in tourist clubs and theatrical venues. Meanwhile, traditional village performances continue, usually linked to temple events or local festivals, preserving the art form’s historical and cultural roots.
