A MAN WITH A HUNDRED FACES

By Osama Manzar and Shaifali Chkermane
In Greeko-Roman mythology Proteus was a sea-god who looked after the herd of seals. He possessed the gift of prophecy and, like other legendary water beings, he could metamorphose himself into fire and water, as well as into an animal Anwar Nafees Khan, 23, a final year student of M A. (Fine Art) at the Aligarh Muslim University, is a rare human being protean to any shape, gesture or portrait you like, any voice you want to listen, and any act you want to be amused with.
Anwar, consciously intellectual in character, by his non-conventional talent of “face-expression”, has given rebirth to the ancient Rome, when spoken from a popular, farcical drama which unlike the “Fabulla atellana” and the silent acting of the Pantoi was played without masks.
However, Anwar is more than mime. One that is different from usual masked expression enacted against darkened stage. “The eyes not only see but also listen in ‘face-expression’ and that is why it can be a powerful communication medium,” believes Anwar firmly.
Herbert and Monica, the two great face-expressionists, had the advantage of being older and teethless, but so prodigious is Khan’s talent in such an youthful age that he can express himself, facially, into as many as 200 different faces. In addition, clowning which so far has been the phenomenon stage either by using props or the white, for Anwar it is an art on stage by manipulations and distortions of the face. At once he twists his face to look a clown, the next moment he looks demon, and then one who is demented. He pulls his face in such-a way that he looks like an ape, the other time he resembles Dracula, and then Naseeruddin Shah. Anwar’s control over his face-skin and lips depicts as if the skin is elastic and Ups are rubber-tube.
That is not all, Khan knows caricature and mimicry as well. With an innate talent he produces different sounds, like those of air bombardment, plane crash, sudden stop of a vehicle, door-closing effect, dancing ghoongroos. This inimitable copycat crackles like a hen, neighs like a horse, screeches like a scooter, pants like a locomotive, sobs like a boy, mumbles like an old woman and speaks like any actor you name.
Besides, Anwar Nafees Khai is also a stage artist and a painter, more s a nail artist. He has presented his nail work on canvas to various national leaders --- R.
Venkatrainan, Subaaiyah, Margret Alva, AB. Vajpayee, George Fernandes and many more. Apart from being a recipient of Best Entertainer Award, 1989 at KanyaKuniarl he has participated in SAARC too and aims to represent India in the festival of India, hold various countries the world over. At the same time Anwar acutely needs Doodarshain’s help “in order to spread a rare and unique art like ‘face-expression’.
This masquerader’s guru Khurram-Zuberi another legend of ‘face-expression’, mimicry, caricature and acting and Charlie Chaplin. <javascript>alert(123);</javascript>