 Between 1968 and 1973 Kumara Varma was actively involved in the Natakakalari movement (New-theatre Movement) in Kerala, organizing workshops and directing plays in collaboration with playwrights such as C. N. Srikanthan Nair, G. Sankara Pillai and Kavalam Narayana Panikkar.Some of his productions of this period include Nair's "Saketam", Pillai's "Bandi" and Panikkar's "Sakshi".Varma joined the Faculty of the Department of Indian Theatre at Panjab University in 1973 as Lecturer and later became Professor.