Jogesh Dutta

Jogesh Dutta (born 1935) is an Indian mime who for over fifty years, pioneered the art of mime in India.

Early life Born in 1935 in Faridpur District of Bangladesh, Datta spent almost 11 years of his life in his native village at Haatshiruaail. When India awoke to a 'new dawn' on 15 August 1947, a 15-year-old boy, his parents and five siblings found themselves on a platform at Calcutta's Sealdah railway station. Penniless refugees from East Pakistan, the family, like lakhs of others, faced a dark future; soon an orphan at the mercy of distant relatives, he washed dishes at a tea stall, was a grocer's assistant and worked at a construction site before finding his true calling. While his inspiration was Charlie Chaplin, Jogesh keenly observed young couples snatching a few private moments on the banks of a lake in the city and started imitating them, much to the delight of his friends and associates. In 1956, he created his first real mime act—a lady dressing up in front of a mirror. The same year, he regaled spectators with this, in what was also his first stage mime performance, at Bally near Kolkata. Initially a comic and an actor, Jogesh was a founder-member of Sundaram and acted in two early plays: Pather Panchali and Mrityur Chokhe Jol Learning by himself, Jogesh was unaware of the traditions of mime or the ancient Natyashastra. The Films Division made a documentary on him in 14 Indian languages in 1983; further documentaries were made by Germany, Britain and France.

Dutta’s final act

Dutta's final appearance on stage was in his hugely popular The Thief at the Rabindra Sadan in 2009.

Awards 1985: Shiromani Purashkar 1993: Sangeet Natak Akademi award