Bollywood Sans Pancake

But there are other pictures that cut through the clutter — shots of struggling actors in dingy flats,a small-time actor posing in front of his shack at a Mumbai slum — as Bennington attempts to compare their lives with that of beginners in Hollywood. “There is more hope among struggling actors in India,” he says.

Bennington,41,who was formerly a TV actor,says the photographs are a part of his coffee table book (tentatively titled Living the Dream: The Life of a Bollywood Actor) to explain Indian celebrities to the West.

He arrived in January 2010,armed with this idea to draw a parallel between the two film industries through photographs. All he had with him was a camera and an acquaintance’s address. “I only knew that Bandra was a place where actors were concentrated,” he says. He made little headway with the stars. It was on his second visit to the country,in November last year,that he managed to see Bollywood’s who’s who through his lens. “I met Anurag Kashyap’s assistant and this opened some doors for me. I also networked with film agents,” he says.

In the past few months,Bennington has completed a photo-essay of 50 actors. His first contact was Neetu Chandra of Traffic Signal fame,whom he has captured with the ocean as the backdrop. Other lesser-known actors like Deepak Dobriyal,Vijay Raaz,Gaurav Gera and Ashvin Mushran were photographed in their daily routine like getting ready for shoots or rehearsing their dialogues.

The pictures are stacked up alongside 22 interviews on the personal lives of actors like Salman Khan,Sharmila Tagore,Naseeruddin Shah and Ranbir Kapoor. “These interviews will be a guide into the world of actor auditions,acting schools,theatre and life on the sets,” he says.