The annual festival organised by the National Mime Institute in CK Block once again showcased the best of Indian mime, drawing performers from across the country and audiences from at least across the city. The week-long event, which was open to all, featured multiple performance slots as well as discussions and workshops.
“We mark the dates for this festival every year and never miss it,” said Bhola Yadav from Delhi. “It’s enriching for artistes as we get to meet other practitioners from all over India, observe emerging styles, attend workshops, and take part in debates that unite us.” Yadav himself performed an act about a man who literally steps into other people’s shoes and begins to experience their aspirations—whether to become a phuchka seller, a drummer, or even Shah Rukh Khan. “My act was comical as audiences today are stressed. I want to entertain them,” he said.
There was also Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Lalu, staged by Indian Mime Theatre and directed by Amit Halder, a mute artiste. “We have a competent director, and we understand his requirements perfectly,” said actor Arka Chakraborty. “Mime itself is an unspoken art, so it’s doubly meaningful.”
Theatrician Chanchal Ray conducted a session on yoga, while Niranjan Goswami, Padma Shri awardee and director of the institute, offered performance tips.
Sanket Khedkar, an artiste from Maharashtra, is in fact pursuing a PhD on Goswami’s contributions to Indian mime. “Niranjanda has developed a uniquely Indian style of mime, incorporating yoga and meditation, which helps us become well-rounded performers. There’s so much to learn from him.”
Khedkar performed a solo act depicting the toxic pressures on alpha males to succeed. “My character begins to equate self-worth with income, starts objectifying women and this leads to his downfall,” he explained.
New avenues
Asif Sher Ali Khan from Rajasthan performed solo on the menace of plastic pollution, and Nirbhak of Assam presented Letter to God about a farmer who writes to god asking for money. Deka Dipjyoti of Nirbak also shared copies of a mime journal they are compiling, featuring contributions from across the world.
Barun Roy of Jagaran Natya Sanstha, however, expressed concern about the declining interest in mime. “Our group performs mime, theatre, and recitation, but frankly, it’s getting harder to find mime artistes. This art requires physical agility and refined body language. Out of 10 young aspirants, maybe one wants to do mime. The rest drift towards films, serials, or conventional theatre,” he said. His group performed two pieces — one on the plight of migrant workers stranded during the pandemic and another on how rumours destroy the career of a promising footballer.
Santimoy Roy of Mounomukhor called for broader opportunities for mime in cultural events. “Today I’m directing and acting in a mime adaptation of Tagore’s Dui Bigha Jomin. Even during events like Rabindra Jayanti, artistes should consider not just reciting or singing but also performing mime to Tagore’s works. It would certainly help widen the reach and relevance of the art form,” he said.