Kala, known professionally as Kala Master, is an Indian choreographer. She is the director of the Indian reality dance talent show, Maanada Mayilada – where she is one of the three judges.[1] She was awarded the National Film Award for Best Choreography in 2000 for her folk dance sequences in the Malayalam film, Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal.[2][3]
A trained classical dancer, Kala, a school drop out, entered the film industry through the influence of her brother-in-law, the choreographer Raghuram. Making her debut as an assistant choreographer at the age of 12 in 1982, she got a break during the making of Punnagai Mannan in 1986 starring Kamal Haasan and Revathi, as director K. Balachander suggested Kala fill in for the busy Raghuram.[4] She was then chosen again by Balachandar as the lead choreographer for Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal (1989).
She has since worked in over 4000 songs in various languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada, Oriya, Bengali, English, Italian and Japanese. She has referred to the "Kozhi Koovum Neram achu" song in Azhagan as one of her leading pieces of work and also referred actress Bhanupriya as her favorite dancer. She was handed the opportunity to choreograph the Miss World 1996 Beauty Pageant held at Bangalore for which she received a special award of excellence. Moreover, she notes that a stage event in Malaysia featuring Prashanth and seven heroines, propelled her into fame. She was awarded the National Film Award for Best Choreography in 2000 for her folk dance sequences in the Malayalam film, Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal.[5] She became the first to start a cinematic dance school named Kala's Kalalaya which has five branches in Chennai. She manages it along with her sisters. Kala's merit is in popularising a peculiar dance form, cobbled together with borrowings from classical, Indian folk, bhangra and western steps.[6] She also won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Choreographer for her work in Chandramukhi.
She has since gone to specialise in directing dance reality shows, notably Maanada Mayilada, which has finished nine seasons.[7] She is currently judging dance reality show Odi Vilayadu Papa in Kalaignar TV.
| Movie | role | year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punnagai Mannan | Choreographer | 1986 | [8] |
| Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal | Choreographer | 1989 | [9] |
| Chandramukhi | Choreographer | 2005 | [10] |
| Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal | Choreographer/Actor | 2022 | [11] |
| Year | Show | Role | Notes | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Jodi Number One (season 1) | Herself | Judge | STAR Vijay |
| Super Dancer | Herself | Judge | Amrita TV (Malayalam) | |
| 2007 | Super Dancer 2 | Herself | Judge | Amrita TV (Malayalam) |
| Super Dancer JUNIOR | Herself | Judge | Amrita TV (Malayalam) | |
| 2008 | Odi Vilayadu Papa | Herself | Director/ Judge | Kalaignar TV |
| 2008–2013 | Maanada Mayilada (1-8 seasons) | Herself | Director / Judge | Kalaignar TV |
| 2014 | D 4 Dance (Season 1) | Herself | Judge | Mazhavil Manorama (Malayalam) |