Nithor Mahbub Mime Artist

Nithor Mahbub is a mime artist. Mahbub first came to know about mime in the 1980’s. He didn’t receive any institutional training in this field, but believes hard work and willpower can make anything possible. He does, however, consider himself lucky to have met and learned from prominent Bangladeshi mime artists, like Partha Pratim Majumder. He believes, awards are not really important in life, rather, the appreciation an artist gets from the audience is more crucial. Y&I talked to him about his work, inspiration and future plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheikh Iraj

How did you get into mime art? What inspired you?

At the Shilpakala Academy in Narsingdi, I met a theatre group and found it interesting. Soon I joined them and they used to practice mime art to improve their acting skills. Then I, along with some of my friends, formed our own theatre group and we wanted to do something out of the box, so we used to perform mime. From there on, my interest in mime began to grow.

Did you get any institutional training in this field?

I don’t have any institutional training in this field. But I am lucky enough to have learned from some of the best mime artists of Bangladesh. Partha Pratim Majumder is the one who literary brought mime art to Bangladesh. He now lives in France where he is a well-known mime artist. Whenever he comes to Bangladesh, he keeps himself busy by working with young mime artists. Zillur Rahman John and Kazi Mashurul Huda were contemporaries of Majumder, but they also live abroad now. After they left the country, from 1990 to 2000 mime art didn’t seem to exist anymore in Bangladesh. The number of mime  shows dropped and as a result, the number of mime groups decreased.

What is mime art to you?

To me, mime art portrays the power of silent acting. In our acts, we always try to give different social messages. Our acts might look funny to some people, but we try to address some very important issues of our society and our daily lives. We entertain people without saying anything and that’s not so easy, by the way. You need a lot of physical strength, flexibility, and deep concentration.

What are your thoughts on the mime art scenario in Bangladesh?

Mime art has been growing in popularity in recent years. From 2006, a number of new mime art groups have been formed, mostly in Dhaka. Today, there are about 30 mime groups in the country. I have to say the media has helped to spread the news of our work a great deal. But still, there are hardly any mime shows on TV. We are receiving a positive response from youths. It took me five years to build my own mime group. Getting people to do mime is not easy. In our group, we have 20 boys and just one girl. Some girls do come to learn, but they can’t continue due to their studies or marriage. Right now, on average we do four shows every month _ that is good  compared to the scenario five years ago. At least people are getting to know more about mime art now. Of course, there is not much money in this field, especially in Bangladesh. Whatever money we get from the shows, I distribute them among all my group members.

Please tell us about your biggest achievements.

I really don’t care about awards, making people smile and cry with my acting is more important to me. My biggest achievement is that I am working with mime and through that, I am able to entertain people.  

What’s your future plan?

I want to see mime art in Bangladesh thrive and I want to be a part of that development. I want to keep working with mime for the rest of my life.

Nithor Mahbub Mime Artist

Nithor Mahbub is a mime artist. Mahbub first came to know about mime in the 1980s. He didnt receive any institutional training in this field, but believes hard work and willpower can make anything possible. He does, however, consider himself lucky to have met and learned from prominent Bangladeshi mime artists, like Partha Pratim Majumder. He believes, awards are not really important in life, rather, the appreciation an artist gets from the audience is more crucial. YI talked to him about his work, inspiration and future plan. Sheikh Iraj How did you get into mime art? What inspired you? At the Shilpakala Academy in Narsingdi, I met a theatre group and found it interesting. Soon I joined them and they used to practice mime art to improve their acting skills. Then I, along with some of my friends, formed our own theatre group and we wanted to do something out of the box, so we used to perform mime. From there on, my interest in mime began to grow. Did you get any institutional training in this field? I dont have any institutional training in this field. But I am lucky enough to have learned from some of the best mime artists of Bangladesh. Partha Pratim Majumder is the one who literary brought mime art to Bangladesh. He now lives in France where he is a well-known mime artist. Whenever he comes to Bangladesh, he keeps himself busy by working with young mime artists. Zillur Rahman John and Kazi Mashurul Huda were contemporaries of Majumder, but they also live abroad now. After they left the country, from 1990 to 2000 mime art didnt seem to exist anymore in Bangladesh. The number of mime shows dropped and as a result, the number of mime groups decreased. What is mime art to you? To me, mime art portrays the power of silent acting. In our acts, we always try to give different social messages. Our acts might look funny to some people, but we try to address some very important issues of our society and our daily lives. We entertain people without saying anything and thats not so easy, by the way. You need a lot of physical strength, flexibility, and deep concentration. What are your thoughts on the mime art scenario in Bangladesh? Mime art has been growing in popularity in recent years. From 2006, a number of new mime art groups have been formed, mostly in Dhaka. Today, there are about 30 mime groups in the country. I have to say the media has helped to spread the news of our work a great deal. But still, there are hardly any mime shows on TV. We are receiving a positive response from youths. It took me five years to build my own mime group. Getting people to do mime is not easy. In our group, we have 20 boys and just one girl. Some girls do come to learn, but they cant continue due to their studies or marriage. Right now, on average we do four shows every month _ that is good compared to the scenario five years ago. At least people are getting to know more about mime art now. Of course, there is not much money in this field, especially in Bangladesh. Whatever money we get from the shows, I distribute them among all my group members. Please tell us about your biggest achievements. I really dont care about awards, making people smile and cry with my acting is more important to me. My biggest achievement is that I am working with mime and through that, I am able to entertain people. Whats your future plan? I want to see mime art in Bangladesh thrive and I want to be a part of that development. I want to keep working with mime for the rest of my life.