Playing the mute spectator: Mime back with a bang

Fifty years ago, when Niranjan Goswami saw Russian mime artists perform in Calcutta for the first time, he was intrigued.

“I tried to find someone who could tell me more about the art but eventually learnt watching the foreign artistes,” says Goswami, who is synonymous with the Indian mime industry today.

The Padma Shri winner (2009) set up his own school that takes on 10 students each year and uses Indianised techniques to teach mime. “People think it is a foreign art form but every root movement and emotion is explained in the Natya Shastra.

Students who want to pursue dance, drama or films must understand the basics of mime,” he says.

Foreign mime artistes might use similar movements, but the reason is explained in Indian treatise of performing arts, says 35-year-old Arusam Madhusudan aka mime Madhu.

Madhusudan, who received a fellowship from the Department of Culture and travelled to Japan to learn the art, leads the mime community in Andhra Pradesh.

In India, there isn't enough awareness about mime. People assume, mime artistes are clowns. The real idea behind using white paint on the face is to create a neutral character since the actor will transform into many personalities through the course of the act.

In Korea, Japan and the US, the art has a technical wealth that India doesn’t have, says Madhusudan. “They kept me on a daily diet of two tomatoes and taught me to channel my energy and act with soul. The body is only a tool for movement,” he says. 

Madhusudan, who quit his job as an engineer to take up mime, conducts workshops for students and corporates to teach them posture and communication through mime. He also launches mobile and car brands. “It’s easier for mime artists to survive today,” he says.

While state-wise gatherings of mime artistes are not uncommon, especially in Kolkata and Manipur, the communities function in isolation. Goswami is now planning a national mime festival in Delhi next year.

He is getting the community together to form the Bharatiya Mukabhinaya Mahasangh that will bring artistes around the country together. “The government is taking keen interest in the art but funding is a problem, we are artistes not organisers, it’s not possible to do it all,” Goswami says.

But Madhusudan isn't completely convinced. “Right now, the art is at the mercy of the whims of the officials. Silence is a strong medium and we hope the Centre will hear our plea,” he says.