Actors laboratory

Yet,there is an evident note of pride in the speech by Waseem Ahmad,who prefers to forgo his last name for the industrys unifying sign of respect,sir. Ram has been struggling for 10 years,but his efforts are soon to bear fruit. He has been signed on for a film and talks are on with Rani (Mukerji) for the heroines part, claims Ahmad,the trainer at Attraction Acting Institute in Juhu,Mumbai.

Ram has been struggling for 10 years,but his efforts are soon to bear fruit. He has been signed on for a film and talks are on with Rani (Mukerji) for the heroines part – Ahmad,the trainer at Attraction Acting Institute in Juhu

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 to voice modulation,imagination and fight. The students,in turn,hope to be the next Arjun Kapoor filmmaker Boney Kapoors son,who,after a course in acting from Juhus Stella Adler Acting Studio,is making a debut in Yash Raj Films Ishaqzaade. Meanwhile,Kapoors batchmate,half-German Evelyn Sharma,is still struggling to bag a film and 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 Khers 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. I help my students realise their strengths so that they can work on them and accordingly pitch themselves, says the owner and head trainer of Kreating Charakters in Andheri. What this acting coach implies is that many students,who may lack the potential for a big film debut,find their way into television.

The Four Bunglows neighbourhood of Andheri,where Kreating Charakters is located,is clearly a hub for acting students. 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,Katrina Kaif and South mega star Chiranjeevis son,Ram Charan Teja.

While the acting coaches feel that language and diction are the most important parts of training,action and dance classes enjoy maximum enthusiasm from the students. Stella Adler holds classes in Kalaripayattu and Kreating Charakters has Ravi Tiwari,who is popular for his fight sequences in Bhojpuri cinema,as the action faculty. Your punch has to land just a little away from the face of the other actor,enough for it to look real on camera, says Tiwari.

With a junior and senior batch in session,Vidur claims his hands are full. On principle,I dont take more than sixteen students 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 theres always room for these students elsewhere.