Ramdas Padhye: The Master Puppeteer

Ramdas Padhye the Indian ventriloquist, puppeteer, and puppet-maker is unquestionably the King of Ventriloquism in India. For over forty years, he has singularly dominated this profession. Ramdas received his formal training in the art of ventriloquism and puppetry from his late father Prof. Y.K. Padhye. At the age of 23, Ramdas performed before the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi in New Delhi and true to the advice he received from her, to this day his puppets retain the Indian touch.

RamdasPadhye’s success lies in the fact that he has always made puppets that his Indian audiences can identify with and relate to. Here is a man who has not just made a living from his art but has given back to society as well. His shows based on themes like “Family Planning”,”Child Education” and “Grow more food” were as entertaining as they were educative.

Ramdas Padhye’s use of puppets on a leading news channel to depict political satire have been well accepted and acclaimed. The Lijjat Papad commercial, where the Lijjat pappad is eaten by the puppet Bunny, gained Ramdas a lot of popularity and gave the product it endorsed incredible sales. Ramdas creates his own puppets and he was chosen by Disney to make the puppets for their show “Playhouse Disney”. Needless to say, here is a man whose creative genius does India proud.