Margi Vijayakumar is a noted Kathakali

Kathakali

Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion...

 artiste who has specialised in female roles in the classical dance-drama from Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, south India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. A prominent disciple of the late Padma Shri

Padma Shri

Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...

 Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair

Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair

Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair was one of the most renowned Kathakali artists of any time, and arguably the greatest in the history of the four-century-old classical dance-drama from Kerala in southern India...

, he has gained name in his poised handling of Purana characters like Damayanti

Damayanti

Damayanti , a character in Hindu mythology, was the princess of Vidarbha Kingdom, who married king Nala, of Nishadha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata.-The story:...

, Panchali

Panchali

Panchali may refer to:*Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata*Panchali , a form of narrative folk songs of Bengal region* The Barhai, also known as Panchali, are Hindu caste, found in North India...

, Mohini

Mohini

Mohini , in Hindu mythology, is the name of the only female Avatar of the god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a femme fatale, an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into the Hindu mythos in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata...

 and Kunti, mostly opposite star dancer Kalamandalam Gopi

Kalamandalam Gopi

Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair popularly known as Kalamandalam Gopi is a exponent of the classical dance-drama style known as Kathakali...

.

The 1960-born Vijayakumar, a native of Thonnakkal

Thonnakkal

Thonnakkal is a village located on the southern side of Kerala in peninsular India. It is located about 25 km from the state's capital Thiruvananthapuram....

 in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 district, was initially trained under Thonnakkal Peethambaran, Inchakkattu Ramachandran Pillai and Mankulam Vishnu Namboodiri. Equally at ease with choreographically dense roles and those that more profile the Kathakali character, many buffs consider Vijayakumar as a legitimate successor to septuagenarian Kottakkal Sivaraman

Kottakkal Sivaraman

Kottakkal Sivaraman was an acclaimed performing artiste who revolutionised the portrayal of female roles in Kathakali, the classical dance-drama from Kerala in southern India...

. Vijayakumar lives in Kudavoor near Thiruvananthapuram.