Meerut: If you really want to get into the skin of Rama, Sita, Laxhmana, Hanuman, Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Sugriva and many more characters like them, perhaps, just honing your acting skills won’t be of much help and you may end up being a loser, because mastery over acting is not the only thing that Ramlila groups are looking out for in their prospective actors.“It takes a lot more than that,” say artistes of Ramlila Mandi of Sanskriti Kala Sangam who have come all the way from Delhi to perform at the Bhainsali ground here — most of them are not mere actors. “Our actors do not simply enact; they do it using various dance forms; it’s more of a ‘naatya prastuti’ (dance presentation). Dance forms have special impact on audience’s mind and leave a lasting impression on them. Thus, we don’t focus much on acting skills of impersonator, and rather look for his dancing skills,” says Pooran Singh Chauhan, president, Sanskriti Kala Sangam.Among Ramlila Mandi artistes, some are proficient classical dancers who teach Kathakali in various schools in Delhi, while others are trained Kathak dancers. Not just this, the two protagonists — Rama and Laxhmana played by Yash Chauhan and Suraj Prasad — are trained in martial arts and Mayurbhanj Chhau, a dance form of Odisha. “Dancers have better command over their expression and their body language is more articulated than of actors,” says Chauhan.Chauhan (26) said, “Both of us hold a six-year diploma in chaau, which helps us in fighting sequences of Ramlila, as this dance form is inspired from martial arts. Also, it helps us with correct expressions.”Jyotsana Bansal (22), a first-time stage performer who is portraying Sita in a Ramlila organised by Shri Ramlila Committee, Meerut Cantt, at Bhainsali ground, holds a degree in Kathak. “I have never acted before, but I am a Kathak dancer with a ‘Prabhakar’ degree. When the opportunity to act in Ramlila came, my family was little apprehensive about sending me to Meerut and even acting in Ramlila, but they gave up before my resolve.”Another artiste, Upendra Sinha, 37, who has been acting in Ramlilas for the past 10 years, is playing Hanuman this year. Sinha, too, is a trained Kathakali dancer and a dance teacher at a Kendriya Vidyalaya, Delhi.Harsh Chaudhary, the only non-dancer among the leads who is enacting Ravana, got a six-month dance training by his Ramlila group members to fit the role.

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