Mumbai Mourns Cultural Icon Gopakumar Pillai, The Man Who Gave Malayalis A Home For Kerala’s Art And Heritage In The City

Mumbai: One of the prominent organisers of cultural programmes in Mumbai, Gopakumar Pillai,76, is no more. He died recently after a battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife and daughter. Like thousands of other Keralites, he came to Mumbai several years ago in search of a job. He soon realised that the Malayali diaspora was being starved of Kerala culture. Hence he formed People’s Arts Centre and organised over a thousand hugely successful programmes at the Shanmukhananda Hall and other auditoria across the metropolis.

A Bridge Between Cultures

He not only brought drama, Kathakali and other troupes from Kerala, but also provided a platform to talented artistes from Mumbai itself. He publicly felicitated people from different walks of life and presented Chhatrapati Shivaji awards. Always simply dressed, Gopakumar's reputation was such that governors, political leaders and industrialists readily accepted his invitation.

Late journalist P.K. Ravindranath, noted hotelier Capt Krishnan Nair, ex-deputy municipal commissioner V Balachandran and others encouraged him to the hilt. He also organised programmes of Hindi film music like Asha Bhosale, Yesudas, Mahendra Kapoor, Ravindra Jain, Bappi Lahiri, Amit Kumar etc. These functions were graced by celebrities from the film industry.

When Kerala Came Alive in Mumbai

In 1999, Gopakumar organised a mammoth event “Mamangam 2000” attended by about 50,000 people at the Andheri Sports Complex. The event had Priyadarshan, Sabu Cyril, Resul Pookutty on the advisory panel. Former Maharashtra governor P C Alexander not only appreciated the event but gave one of his best speeches . About 1000 artists unfolded the history and heritage of Kerala with cutting edge lighting and sound effects. Many senior artistes like Madhu, Mohanlal, Balamurali Krishna, Jayachandran and Brahmanandan supported his efforts. He even organised a “payasam festival” with chefs from Kerala dishing out a variety of “payasam.” He made it a point to bring Maharashtra and Kerala together culturally. As per his will, his body was donated for medical research.

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