Kapila

Kapila is a documentary that follows a day in the life of Kapila, a Koodiyattam performer. Through that single day, the film sketches her creative world, centring on a traditional art form and the routine of the person who practises it. The narrative stays close to her working life rather than telling her story from beginning to end.

The film was directed and written by Sanju Surendran and runs 61 minutes. It was made by the Films Division of India and released in August 2014. Kapila Venu appears as herself, so the film rests on a real performer rather than on an actor playing a role. It is listed as both a documentary and a music film, which reflects the place of performance and sound in what is shown.

Kapila belongs to the early part of Sanju Surendran's filmography; among the titles listed for him, it is his first feature-length credit, made before the later films that followed. The subject and the filmmaker share a first name, and the title points to the performer at the centre of the piece.