Calling All Actors

As final year direction students of the Film and Television Institute of India begin work on their diploma films,they start scouting for acting talent.

As final year direction students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) begin work on their diploma films,they start scouting for acting talent. The main actors are picked from the acting department,while the ‘supporting cast slot’ gives opportunities to those who are new to the profession or are well-known in the industry circle,though not on the commercial front. It is common practice for us to get actors from the theatre fraternity or from the industry, says Dipti Khurana,a third-year direction student who recently completed her diploma film,Rizwan,that was screened at the Reliance Adlabs at Filmcity on January 7.

The film starred actors Sonali Sachdev and Yusuf Hussain,both known theatre artistes. It was Hussain’s first foray into diploma film. Dipti called me asking me to act in her film and requested me for my dates for three-four days. I came to Pune and shot with the crew last year. Films here are always shot with the same professionalism as in the industry. The reason why senior actors also come to work in these films is to help the students with their films. As actors,it is our responsibility too,to make youngsters feel comfortable and good about their work, he says.

Abhinav Gupta is a third-year direction student at the institute,and his diploma film Dhol,Gawar,Pashu aur Nari features three child actors – Yutika Barne,Monty Bhosale and Rohan Bhosale. In the case of Monty and Yutika,I had seen a couple of their previous roles in the diploma films and they fit the characters perfectly. Ditto for Rohan,who is Monty’s brother, says Gupta. For the auditioning of the children Gupta spread the word out through his seniors and social networking sites and also contacted the children’s parents to come with the kids for the role. Kailash Bhosale,Monty and Rohan’s father,says,For the audition,my children read the lines and even acted in front of the camera. Then along with the crew members they played some games too before they were selected for the shoot.”

The reason why we played games with the kids was to identify,who among them were intelligent,active and would grasp the story easily. In the case of Yutika,who is just five years old,she even gave us inputs on how her scene would look better if she acted in a different way,which we used in the film, Gupta adds.

Auditions,screen-tests,script reading and dialogue workshops are all part of the process. It’s like casting for a regular television show or movie,except that it’s done on a smaller scale, informs Sachdev adding,”The main reason why I act in the diploma films and the dialogue projects at FTII is because of the raw energy here.

Similarly,first-time actor Pavan Satpal,who acted in Cyrille Larrieu’s movie,A Very Bright Day,says,I mainly work with casting crews for movies and television serials in Mumbai. For Cyrille’s film,he contacted me on Facebook and asked if I was interested. I immediately came down to Pune,gave the audition and shot for the role. Given the fact that I was always involved with casting it was nice to be cast in a film for a change.

Sachdev agrees that money has never been a motivating factor to act in these films. “I have never come here for the money,because there isn’t much. But as an actor,even I have a few demands,especially that I be taken seriously. I get that here and thus I keep coming back, she says.

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories

Tags:
FTII