Meet the man for whom being a clown is serious business

A heavy resonant voice greeted us as we braced ourselves to speak to a man who wears colourful wigs outlandish clothes a huge red ball on his nose and a painted smile lsquoHellorsquo the warm voice lured us into the interview and from the other end Martin DrsquoSouza an affable 45yearold man spoke to usA scene from the soontobestaged act by Flubber the Clown played by Martin DrsquoSouza centreWhat happens when someone who fears clowns talks to one thankfully on the phone to find out whatrsquos behind that wiry bubble gum wig and that misleading painted mouth Going back to the tradition of court jesters to circus clowns it was our job to find out what attracted a 20yearold Mumbai collegian in the 1990s to the world of white makeups and rainbow clothes ldquoIn St Xavierrsquos College I was known as Mad Martin Having my initials as MD I simply added an lsquoArsquo to make it lsquomadrsquo I was known so because I could do anything and entertain people without even realising that it is a part of clowningrdquo says a calm and thoughtful person who doesnrsquot sound one bit like a lsquoclownrsquoFlubber the Clown during an actDecoding mad MartinAsk DrsquoSouza that and pat is his reply ldquoI became a clownrdquo and after a pause he makes up his mind ldquoI have always been a clownrdquo Yet the interlude between lsquobecamersquo and lsquohave always beenrsquo contain a lifechanging episode as we later discover ldquoI started earning professionally by anchoring events as the master of ceremonies I used to always conduct birthday parties as Martin in a suit or a jacket Some party planner said that hersquod pay me 50 bucks more if I would get into a clown costume The biggest thing for me was lsquowhat if someone sees me in a clown costumersquo Another person suggested lsquoArenrsquot you painting your face Go ahead and do it No one would recognise yoursquordquoCalling his background as ldquoeconomically unhealthyrdquo DrsquoSouza knew that any income from entertainment was good income ldquoI painted my face with watercolours which was the only makeup we knew then By the end of the show the watercolours were dripping all over my face and the makeup was falling apart but the audience was having a blast because I was into the music the games and the dance Everybody at that point knew that Martin was doing it and not a clown It made me realise makeup doesnrsquot matter if people connect with you and you make them happyrdquo hearing which our fear slowly started dissolving DrsquoSouza corrected us as he told us that clowns make people happy but jokers only make them laughMartin DrsquoSouza with and without his clown attireBlubberFlubberPicturing the true MartinFlubber we started learning of his joy in the art of juggling magic pantomime which makes him feel wonderful as he is happy not to ldquoworry to be a master of any one art and be more popularrdquo Now the Regional Director of West Asia and the Middle East of the World Clown Association DrsquoSouza didnrsquot always have it this easy Nearly sixfeet tall the quiet boy from school could fathom how his height always made him ldquostand out from the rest of the packrdquo Since the day the makeup melted away DrsquoSouza resolved to apply to the University of Wisconsin where after his scholarship to study clowning he never looked backSo now that the fear was on the wane we started probing to know how Flubber came into existence ldquoDid the name come from the filmrdquo and surprisingly shared a laugh as we questioned him ldquoPossibly so Flubber is an auguste type of clown who has his face partially covered with makeup with few facial muscles showing There are different clown traditions and styles mdash the whiteface clown the auguste clown the tramp clown think Charlie Chaplin and othersrdquoThe auguste clown is bumbling and naughty two words that had a nice ring to usFlubber with a child during his visit to the city hospital as part of the International Clown Festival in 2012Booya no clown business Admitting our fear we ask the taboo question ldquoBut isnrsquot there an eerie quality to clowns as wellrdquo Not knowing about our fear we sense a tirade ldquoThere are people who hate clowns and are afraid of them There are many movies like Batman and the Joker to support that Clowns are easy prey to pick onEven movies find taking off from whiteface clowns easy in order to make them look ghostlikerdquo DrsquoSouza further shares the clicheacute of internally sad clowns thanks to Mera Naam Joker ldquoI always believe that if a clown has to make somebody happy he has to be happy internally This whole perception mdash that you are sad behind closed doors and suddenly you go out and wear a mask mdash that doesnrsquot make sense in our clown world because I have interacted with over 1000 clowns at various conventions everybody has major hassles in life but they are not depressed soulsrdquoFlubber who weighs 116 kg and is currently learning how to unicycle stresses that all that he performs is meant only for families and children who are as young as two or three years old and have never seen a character in their life Still they feel happy when they meet himSpeaking of his act this weekend he shares ldquoItrsquos about three friends who keep on fighting and getting back togetherrdquo Adding cherry on the cake mdash his trademark acts mdash are action songs like Hokey Pokey and the Birdy Dance that he has created on his own as well as performs some that are from the US and Australia Sounding merry and fun we admit of our fear to the clown and he asks us ldquonow that you know me is your fear gonerdquo We smile