Actors’ Laboratory

Set up in a rented hall where a temporary partition separates the classroom from the office,with a television,stereo system and camcorder for equipment,Attraction Acting Institute runs multiple batches of acting classes. They are of varied durations and often run simultaneously. And Ahmad,with training experience of nearly 18 years,is the sole master of all subjects,which range from Body Language,Voice Modulation,Imagination and Fight. The students,in turn,hope to be the next Arjun Kapoor — filmmaker Boney Kapoor’s son,who,after a course in acting from Juhu’s Stella Adler Acting Studio,is making a debut in Yash Raj Films’ Ishaqzaade. Meanwhile,Kapoor’s batchmate,half-German Evelyn Sharma,is still struggling to bag a film. For now,she has to make do with ad films.

The institute is among the dime-a-dozen acting institutes located in the suburbs of Andheri and Juhu. Right from the popular Stella Adler and Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares to those operating out of tiny establishments by self-proclaimed experts with the aim to make an easy buck,nearly all acting schools make for successful business ventures.

Most of them offer syllabus that includes subjects such as imagination exercises,scene study,improvisation,emotions,all coupled with camera study for practicals. The fee quoted is anything from Rs 10,000 up to Rs 1 lakh or more. Often,professional portfolios and show reels are thrown in as additional attractions.

However,according to Kamal Nayan Chaturvedi,who goes by the name Vidur,the distinction lies in the approach towards the studies. “Strategy,more than talent or destiny,is important for achieving success in the industry,” points out the owner and head trainer of Kreating Charakters in Andheri.

“I help my students realise their strengths so that they can work on them and accordingly pitch themselves,” he explains. What this acting coach implies is that many students,who may lack the potential for a big film debut,do find their way into television.

The Four Bunglows neighbourhood of Andheri,where Kreating Charakters is located,is clearly a hub for acting students. Almost every bylane houses an institute and a casting agency,neither of which occupies more than a floor’s space. “Space crunch in Mumbai is normal,” explains the spokesperson at Gurukul Acting Academy.

Of these,six-year-old Kreating Charakters is among the more popular ones. “Most students come from Punjab and London,” says Vidur,who has trained Ranbir Kapoor,Anushka Sharma,Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif (especially for Raajneeti) in Hindi and dialogue delivery. One of his prized students,South mega star Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan Teja,occupies significant space on his office pin board. Already popular in the Telugu film industry,the young actor is likely to debut in Bollywood with Zanjeer’s remake,directed by Prakash Mehra’s son Amit.

While the acting coaches point that language and diction are the most important parts of training,it is the action and dance classes that enjoy maximum enthusiasm from the students. These classes are incorporated in the syllabus of every acting school,be it Stella Adler that holds classes in Kalaripayattu or Kreating Charakters that has Ravi Tiwari,who is popular for his fight sequences in Bhojpuri cinema,as the action faculty. However,while Stella Adler’s Kalaripayattu classes are aimed at fitness,Tiwari’s syllabus has more practical value as he trains his students to control their punches and instead hit just two centimeters away from the target. “While shooting,you will never hit the other actor,your punch has to land just a little away from his face,enough for it to look real on camera,” he explains.

With a junior and senior batch in session,Vidur claims his hands are full. “On principle,I don’t take more than sixteen at a time,” asserts the trainer,who also claims to send away students who lack personality or display lack of passion for acting during the admission. Never mind that,for there’s always room for these students elsewhere.