Puppetry has a lot of potential

Ask Ramdas Padhye his age and he replies merrily, “I think of myself as a 25-year-old when I’m on the stage.” We can’t help but feel amused at the clever way in which the veteran puppeteer, ventriloquist and puppet-maker has avoided the question, as well as expressed what he truly feels about his journey. In May this year, Ramdas completes 50 years of performing on the stage. He’s done more than 9,800 shows in many countries and continues to spread awareness about the art forms in as many ways as he can. This evening, he and his wife Aparna Padhye, who is also a ventriloquist, puppeteer and puppet-maker, will share their journey of constant innovation and response to new contexts, mediums and possibilities at Junoon’s Mumbai Local at Kitab Khana, Fort at 5.30 pm.

Early memories

Even though Ramdas pursued his formal education in mechanical engineering, right from his childhood, he learnt the art form from his father, the late Prof. YK Padhye, who was the pioneer exponent of the art of ventriloquism in India. By the time he was in his teens, he had started doing private shows, and must have been around 18 or 19 years old, when he performed on stage for the very first time. “It was May 1, 1967 and I performed at the Birla Kreeda Kendra. When I told my father that people laughed at the end of the performance, he told me that just because they laughed, does not mean you were very good. You have to practice a lot more. But he also said that there is something in me which will take me forward in life,” he recalls.

In the ‘70s, he was called to America to perform for a TV show, and Ramdas, who was also working as a mechanical engineer in a company, realised puppetry and ventriloquism can’t be just a part-time profession. He gave up his job soon after coming back, and devoted his time to taking these art forms ahead through doing shows, ad films and even movies. “Initially, I did shows in Marathi, but later, I started doing shows in English and Hindi as well as some foreign languages, because I had decided that I wanted to perform the world over,” he states. Puppet-making was another field he ventured in, and most of the celebrity puppets one sees on TV channels are made by him.

Challenges galore

One of the initial challenges he faced in his career was of people assuming that puppetry and ventriloquism are only meant for kids. “When adults watch these shows, they realise that they enjoy them too. I was able to remove that block to an extent. That’s not the case in countries abroad. Also, there, if you try out something different, people accept it. Here, if you want to show some abstract puppetry, it’s difficult for people to accept it immediately. So you have to do it as an experimental show, on a smaller scale. Trying out serious stuff is also difficult as people associate these art forms with humour. So I try and talk about things which will appeal to everyone,” he says.

Ramdas became extremely popular with his television shows on Doordarshan including Meri Bhi Suno and Aap Hi Sochiye. His puppets, Ardhavatrao and Awadabai are still remembered by peoplewho have grown up seeing his shows. “TV channels usually allot a very low budget for these art forms, so it’s difficult to continue doing shows on them,” he laments.

Hope for the future

It was in 1992 that Ramdas established the Ramdas Padhye Foundation, a public charitable trust, to train people in this art form. “While we do get a lot of students here, what is lacking is the passion for these art forms. I think the reason for that is that they expect to gain overnight success, the way it happens in reality shows for dance or music. There is no such glamour in puppetry,” he says.

All said and done, Ramdas is hopeful of a renewed interest in both puppetry and ventriloquism. This hope stems from his belief that these art forms have a lot of unexplored potential. “Also, TV channels are always looking for something unique, so they will definitely look at these art forms again,” he says. His puppet, Ardhavatrao, first conceived by his father, celebrated 100 years last year in September and as part of the celebrations, Ramdas is performing ticketed shows after a gap for almost 22 years, till September this year. “The response has been great!” he signs off.