Ask Anupam
Anupam Kher on Acting

One early morning I discovered a whole new open air acting school, an acting school on the Juhu beach! I was amazed, amused and shocked. This is supposed to be an acting school for all those hopeful actors and actresses who come to Mumbai to make it some way or the other. They don’t have the resources to pay all the Gurus and Masters of acting who charge exorbitant fees. So, there is this group of young men and women who have changed Juhu Beach into an acting school of their own. There are Gurus of acting who are allrounders, specialists in grooming artists of all kinds. There are any numbers of students who feel that this open air acting schools on the beach are much better and practical then all those cramped class rooms housed in little rooms where creativity has no choice to come in any way and inspire students who are willing to go any extent to make it as artists. These newly discovered open air acting schools were eye-openers for me.
They have the “right teachers” who have struggled for years and learned the basics of acting but have found no opportunity. These teachers have experienced how they have been trained by their Gurus when they were young innocent and easily gullible. They don’t want to belong to the school of acting that believes that handsome faces and good physiques make great artists. They feel all they need all future good actor need is some knowledge from the teachers from the beach school of acting. They know what it takes to make it as actors and actresses in Mumbai that they can learn all that on the open beach early in the morning which is the best part of the day. And the fees? Hardly one fourth of what the masters of acting in all those apartment schools.

The most known classes on the beach are the horse riding classes run in different parts of the beach. Here, the Verma Brothers and other fight directors like Kala Singh and Amin Gani who work by day and train enthusiastic boys and girls in all kinds of games, tricks, fallings and risings from horses, camels and even elephants. These classes are so popular that every student who is about to make it as a star, specially the sons and daughters of stars, all set to take their first steps riding on the backs of their famous and even not so famous parents join in with great hope. They enjoy their early morning rides. They do their exercises under the supervision of some of the good old pehlwans. According to some of the students, all excited as the sun shows the first signs of rising for the day, the teachers of the beach school of acting are much better then the knowledgeable acting instructors who teach them any thing but acting in their one room apartment in some suburbs somewhere.

There are, other classes held in various corners of the beach. There are atleast three Gurus of acting sitting with the group of students around them. They are teaching them difficult things like voice modulation, facial expressions and other methods of their own which are very very different from the methods of Stanislavsky and other masters of acting, both Indian and Western. There are students who struggle to make it and succeed. there are others who keep on struggling but reach nowhere near even the basics of what normal acting is all about. There are teachers who are experts in singing and dancing too. Their voices are nowhere near the voices that are needed for our films but their masters go on encouraging them, saying they will make it one day. “Dekhna ek din tum subse bade actor bun jaonge and hume doorse hat hilate huai apne badisi gaadi me gum ho jadoge or hum yhin ret mai rengte rahaige” one of the master tells one of his student - innocent students, poor students, students with little or no future.

Roopam N.R.,
Thiruvananthapuram
Q. Why doesn’t my favourite actor Mithun Chakraborty shoot on foreign locations when even a new comer like Aftab Shivdasani is busy shooting on various locations, like Switzerland and Australia?

I have spoken to Mithunda about this problem but he is absolutely not in a mood to change his stance. He is not willing to go even to out of his favourite places in the South. Then how can you expect him to shoot in Mauritius or Maldives. Mithunda is a strong man of convictions. I say let him be where he is. He has made the south his home and he dosen’t want to run away under any circumstances. He is happy the way he is.

Raja Subramaniam, Kochi
Why isn’t Rajnikant working in Hindi films now?
He says he has had enough Hindi films in the 70’s and 80’s when he have worked at his terms and conditions. He still has one film on hand with Shatrughan Sinha, who claims in his guru but unfortunately, I don’t think the film will see the light of the day. Let us leave him alone to be happy in the land he loves, in the land where his people worship him.

T.R. Anand, Sarangabad.
Where is Madam Udaya Tara Nayar now?
She is doing very well for herself. She has started a new entertainment magazine. She has gone for better prospects. We can only wish her all the best when even new magazines are facing tough times.

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Can I award you the title, answer machine of the millennium?
I am baffled by the number of questions you come up with up. You seem to be an encyclopedia on cinema. I therefore take great privilege in presenting you with an award for the question machine of the millennium.

Sanju Kumar Goyal, Dehra Dun
How do some actresses keep young for so long?
They take care of their God-given figures and beauty which are their main assets. They have doctors to see that they don’t fall sick very often. They have specialist who help them . They have to take care to see that they don’t fall sick and they don’t fall into the bad company which can lead them to bad habits like drugs, drinks and other addictions which lead the body to early denegeration. That’s all I know about actresses. For further details you have to contact some one who is a greater expert than yours truly.

Shyam Sisodia, Jaipur
Is someone finally writing a book on the legendary Dilip Kumar?
Yes, the legend himself has given his permission to Ms Udaya Tara Nayar, to write his biography. It will take time. A subject like Dilip Kumar has to take time. Waiting for a book on Dilip Kumar will really worth it.

Terence Nunes, Mumbai
Why is Dharmendra signing every film that comes his way?
Just to keep himself busy, make some money, and who dosen’t like money and prove that he has still to give as an actor.
Suman Ambote, Mumbai

Where is Jayaprada?
She is taking her career as a politician very seriously. She is only interested in good roles these days. But where are the good roles for actresses like her these days?

Neha Naronha, Goa
Why is Neena Gupta not playing serious roles in films?
Neena has finally found her niche. She is almost the number one female actress and director in television today. She doesn’t need to depend to play all those insignificant roles she has been offered by the dozens in Hindi films .“no more nonsense in Hindi films which make no sense to an actress of kaliber”, she says .films.