Telangana’s biggest mimicry and ventriloquism festival set for March 31 at Ravindra Bharathi

Hyderabad: Mimicry Artistes Welfare Association, in association with the Department of Language and Culture, has announced the Mimicry Symphony Festive Harmony, a mimicry and ventriloquism festival on March 31 at 2 pm on the first floor of Ravindra Bharathi conference hall in Saifabad.

The objective is to showcase the talent, enthral the audience and spread the uniqueness of the art. Mimicry artists are known for their exceptional talent in imitating the voices and mannerisms of famous personalities from the entertainment industry and public life.

Remembering Nerella Venu Madhav

Mimicry artists play a pivotal role in the entertainment industry, showcasing their talent through impersonations and voice modulations, said GVN Raju, president of Mimicry Artistes Welfare Association (MAWA), an ardent disciple of the legendary mimicry artist Padmashree, late Dr Nerella Venu Madhav.

Telangana has a unique role in the Indian mimicry space.

Telugu University has Diploma in Mimicry Course

Raju has the distinction of holding the world record for marathon ventriloquism and was a visiting faculty at Telugu University for the Diploma in Mimicry Course.

He rose to international fame after his enthralling performance at the United Nations, Raju informed.

Nerella Venu Madhav is regarded as the Father of Indian Mimicry. His birthday, December 28, is celebrated as World Mimicry Day. He had introduced the syllabus for a diploma course in mimicry for the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, GVN Raju added.

Mimicry artistes Shiva Reddy, Bhaviri Ravi, GVN Raju, Jithendranath, RCM Rsju, Guruswamy, Mallam Ramesh, Shanti Kumar, Rocking Rakesh, Anjan Kumar, Shiva Prasad Shiva Bhaviri, Mimicry Rambabu, Ashok, Y Subrahmanyam, Venugopal, Kaparthi Naresh, Shankar, Murali Krishna P, Yedukondalu, Lokesh Kumar, N Navin, Ravi Vemuri and Bikshu Yadav will perform and enthrall the audience.

Mimicry used to promote government welfare programmes

Mimicry artistes are change makers. Several welfare programs of the governments are promoted through mimicry to the masses, Raju added

The mimicry artistes have a unique gift and can perform without any instruments, side accompaniments, or makeup and entertain the audience non-stop. Mimicry is one of the great arts, just like singing and singers, they just need one good public address system.

This is a unique talent of imitating voices of people, mechanical sounds, musical instrument sounds like beatboxing, animal sounds, birds’ sounds and natural sounds, said Shiva Reddy, vice-president of MAWA, who has thousands of performances to his credit.

Some artistes can mimic over 1,500 voices

Telangana and India have a rich tradition of mimicry, with artists known for their talent, Shiva Reddy added. Some artists imitate as many as 1,500 voices. Unfortunately, the profession didn’t get its due credit from the government. There is no program without the mimicry artists entertaining. They are the agents of change, added Shiva Reddy, one of the most sought-after mimicry artists in the state of Telangana.

The uniqueness of these mimicry artists is that they are treated like super actors. They are so talented; they dub the voices to the film actors. A lot of comedians have emerged out of the art of mimicry, informed Rocking Rakesh, general secretary of MAWA

During musical soirees, mimicry artists used to entertain the audience in the gap between the performances of two singers. But now mimicry artists have their solo shows, said Rocking Rakesh

Mimicry can be both an inborn talent and a learned skill, depending on the context and individuals. It is largely a skill that can be cultivated through practice and experience.

While mimicry isn’t a standard subject taught in schools or colleges but it can be incorporated. We are proud that we have a university in Hyderabad that has a diploma in Mimicry, says Rakesh.

Schools must include mimicry as an item in schools’ cultural activities, annual day functions and competitions, he suggested.

There is no entry fee. All are welcome, the organising committee said.