Abhijit Sen/TNN
 
Kolkata, Jun 29: It’s common knowledge that Michael Jackson moonwalked for the first time in Billie Jean on March 25, 1983, on Motown Records’ 25th anniversary. But way back in the mid-70s, a group of deaf children from Kolkata, under the banner of The Action Players (TAP), were already moonwalking on stage.

This was in addition to using mime and sign language in their shows. Says Zarin Chaudhuri, founder and artistic director, TAP, ‘‘Yes, my child actors did it beautifully on stage. But I would not say we preceded MJ. What we did was the basic ‘walk and run’ movement, popularised the world over by Marcel Marceau. It did resemble the moonwalk.’’

For the record, Marceau (1923-2007) was a famous French mime artist and actor whose Bip the Clown shared many common features with Chaplin’s Tramp. His mimodramas were a celebration of the ‘art of silence’. He had an MJ connection too. Jackson was to collaborate with Marceau for an HBO concert in 1995.

But unlike the JVs with Richie and McCartney, this one never took off because Jackson fell ill. To return to TAP, it was this theatre group that showcased the moonwalk for Kolkata in the mid-80s.

Recalls Chaudhuri, ‘‘It was a boy called Gopal Bhattacharjee, who used to play Eeyore the donkey in Stories from Winnie the Pooh. He revelled in moonwalking in a show called Prime Time Mime.’’ She gives all the credit to young Gopal. ‘‘We were all amazed by his feat. Here was a tall and handsome boy, hardly 13 or 14, imitating MJ perfectly. He learnt it all by himself.’’

Chaudhuri thinks the boy must have had a video cassette of MJ from his brother-in-law, who was in the navy. On her part, Chaudhuri is not an unabashed MJ fan.

‘‘Yes, he was very innovative. His head, arm and feet movements were mind-blowing. But I would not call him very inspiring. It was a burnout, but I guess he had lived his time.’’ Was Gopal TAP-ped again for an action replay? No, says Chaudhuri. Her protege, a gifted actor, is now an IT pro settled in the US.