Mohd. Shameem is an acclaimed puppeteer, puppet designer, and Founder–Director of Puppetshala Performing Arts, a Delhi-based collective established in 2009 to advance the practice and language of puppet theatre. He began his journey in puppetry at the age of fifteen under Kapil Dev, later refining sculptural and performance techniques with K. S. Radhakrishnan, Dadi Pudumjee, and Anurupa Roy, and expanding into Object Theatre through a masterclass with Yael Rasooly in Norway.
A recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for Puppetry (2014), Shameem steers Puppetshala toward works that fuse traditional craft with contemporary storytelling. The collective is recognised for its large-scale Giant Puppet performances for national platforms including the IPL Opening Ceremony, IIFA, and presentations for various Government of India ministries.
Puppetshala tours original productions such as Flying Flower, Hamara Circus, and Gulliver’s Travels, while also designing self-lit, rod, string, and shadow puppets for theatre and film. Alongside performance, the group conducts training programmes for artists and educators, and participatory workshops that nurture imagination, material craft, and performance skills across diverse age groups and communities.
