It is serious business

Puja says sometimes the clown chooses you rather than the other way round

April 26, 2015 06:54 pm | Updated 06:54 pm IST

Is how Puja describes the red nose. Photo: Bhagya Prakash K

Is how Puja describes the red nose. Photo: Bhagya Prakash K

Puja Sarup is so good looking that clowning is the last thing you associate her with. Yes, she’s a professional clown. “Who says that a clown has to be ugly or unattractive? Sad, the whole world has this notion. Why, even elders in my family used the word ‘clown’ or ‘joker’ when rebuking me for my mischief as a child,” says Puja, who has an MA in theatre and has also worked with well-known actors and puppeteers in Italy.

Like a live performance Talking to her is like watching a live performance, every sentence is acted out and everyday objects – the coffee mug, curtain or even the fire extinguisher - become props.

“For me a clown is more than just someone who is clumsy or falls down. A clown is very profound, one who has a personality and emotions. I think sometimes the clown chooses you rather than the other way round,” says the 33-year-old actor who was in the city on invitation of Sandbox Collectives recently.

Talking about how her journey began, Puja says, “I wanted to join the World Bank, dreaming of a huge salary, travelling abroad and having a huge bank balance. I had done a little theatre when I was studying in Delhi. It was only in my final year that I reluctantly auditioned for a play. Once I was on stage I knew this was what I wanted to pursue.”

Puja adds that she followed her heart because she did not want to end up being “60 and cranky” as she not pursued theatre. In her three-year stint abroad, Puja says that she learnt to make masks and realised that body language and voice become some of the tools she can use to get into a character.

“At the end of the training, we were introduced to the tiniest mask in the world — the red nose. Once you wear it, it changes your personality,” explains Puja, who adds that she draws her inspiration renowned clown and mime artist Nola Rae.

Clowning to Puja is serious business. She says there can be a happy or a sad clown. “Humour is still a big part even when a clown cries. A clown can address serious themes and issues and even be arrogant and get away with anything. In fact a clown helps people introspect.”

She says that she draws her inspiration from people and situations around her. “The key is observation.” She then adds how a performance of hers was based on her visit to a war cemetery when she was travelling abroad.

“The crosses, tombs and the hills struck me. The soldiers who were buried there, were barely in their 20s. It told me that even in their death they could not leave the army as their tombstones were laid in symmetrical order. They could never return and become chefs or anything else. Soldiers marching with their eyes wide open and long feathered head gear brings to my mind another image of clowns. So you see there is a clown in every field. There is a clown in you as well. You just have to unlock it.”

That, she says can happen only when people “get rid of the notion that you have to be funny to be a clown. When you put on the red nose, stand quietly on stage and breathe, you are bound to get a reaction.”

At a time when humour has come down to cheap, double meaning jokes, Puja insists adds that clowning is a classy act.

“A clown is never hiding his fears or insecurities. A clown can be a poet and get away with saying the most absurd things. There are no boundaries to being a clown. A clown helps you introspect, can use gibberish and do anything.”

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