 Kumara Varma was born in April 1945 in Mavelikkara, Kerala.After completing his BSc, he joined the National School of Drama in 1964 and left in 1967 with the prestigious Bharat Puraskar and Girish Ghosh Puraskar.During 1967–68, he worked in the Repertory Company of the NSD and directed "Hori" (a dramatized version of Premchand’s "Godaan") for which the set was designed by Ebrahim Alkazi.