Bharathakoothu IV: Make-up, Costumes and Acting

in Image Gallery
Published on: 26 September 2018

M.D. Muthukumaraswamy

M.D. Muthukumaraswamy is a Tamil writer, Director of National Folklore Support Centre, Chennai, and a Consultant at Sahapedia.

This image gallery presents a photo essay on the Koothu make-up, costumes, their styles and the methods of acting. Koothu or Therukoothu's acting style involves rotating rapidly, rolling the eyes, sticking out the tongue and vigorously dancing. The dialogue alternates between singing and speaking. Koothu's make-up and costumes greatly facilitate its style of acting and help the audience to understand the nature of the characters. While the colour scheme and symbolism of Koothu make-up are shared with the other South Indian performing arts, minor regional variations exist.