Ask Anupam
Anupam Kher on Acting

If I get about a 100 fan etters on an average in a day, what must be the average of a man ike Amitabh Bachchan or a Hrithik Roshan today? The Postman who does duty in the ane outside both ‘Pratiksha’ and ‘Maansa’, the two bungaows owned by the Big B, say they carry three bags fu of etters for Amitabh Bachchan, ony. And now some more for Abhishek Bachchan too and the way things are soon the Postmen doing duty on that road wi find it very difficut to hande their jobs. The competition between the father and son is growing tougher and the father is thried. And the son is embarrassed and even jittery. The father and son do not know what to do with these etters fu of moods, memories, emotions, demands, wants, demands more than anything ese. They have fans who fee they are the Messiahs who can grant them a their wishes they want - especiay the wish to make it as actors, actresses, even maybe stars. etter after etter goes on praising the father and the son to the skies and beyond if possibe. They write about the kind of roes they woud ike both father and son to accept at this stage of their career, yes these hundreds and thousands of men and women have the gumption to give guidance to the greatest of them a and the one who is about to a but make it great. It’s reay very difficut to go through a those bags fu of etters for AB and his son. But there are some which are worth reading ony because they are foating in pain, in passion, in the perseverance to make it as artistes, stars, some kind of actor or actress or stars somehow. They don’t know what to do with them, so they just send a note of encouragement (which run into hundreds in a day sometimes) and send it to the optimists who mosty tak about their “reationships” with Amitabh and Abhishek. I have seen most of those etters and I fee extremey moved by the miions of words which make no meaning in a fied where the competition among the young is so tough that no Amitabh, no Abhishek, no Diip Kumar and sometimes I fear not even God can sove.

Of ate I have been made aware of another kind of phenomenon, a group of struggers being taken for a roya ride by a group of some very “inteigent” frauds (how many kinds of frauds wi this country fourish in?). A group of cever, cunning, crude and even crue men have found out a new group of struggers who are easier to fa into their traps than the “oca” struggers. They have marked out, they have ways of marking out the sons and daughters of NRIs and even oca miionaires and triionaires who have no time for their own chidren and who et them go their ways, whatever their ways, even if they have to spend a major share of their money made “this way or that”. The cheats from Mumbai, (from Mumbai, where ese? the high schoo for cheaters of a kinds) have their own agents who are shockingy students who try to ure the sons and daughters of these rich and very rich to the dream word of fims. It a starts with the usua advance, then the conveyance money and then the money needed in various sums to keep someone or the other happy. This game goes on for quite sometime ti the smart boys and girs of today’s generation reaise that they have been conned, that those frauds who made a those promises coud not even aow them to enter a studio forget the office of a B-grade producer. The frauds, however, don’t give up. They toerate a the insuts, they are sometimes even beaten up by these richie rich youth but they take it a as a part of their game. One of the fraud’s common games is to throw sma parties at one of the hotes where they invite a kinds of peope who are introduced as future fimmakers who are going to make fims with them. It takes them months and sometimes years to reaise that a those men who had come to the party were another brand of frauds who have found a way of ife. The frauds keep taking big, mosty about their cose contacts with a the big names in the industry. But they try their best to see that they meet ony the assistants or the secretaries of those big names who are experts in the gift of the gab and who go on making promises to high heaven ti the richie rich struggers amost ive in the dream word buit for him. Soon a time comes when the frauds ask these struggers to write to their parents and te them that their “time has come”. They are about to be aunched. The detais are being worked in a five-star hote for which they wi need a itte more money. The “bind” and “deaf” (their ove for the chidren do that to them) parents send them whatever they demand.

A few days ater the struggers who are tod that they are in the fim reach the pace where they normay meet and to their utter dismay find that they have vanished. This racket has just started. The other rackets are sti going on and fourishing because every handsome young man wants to become a Hrithik Roshan and every young woman a Preity Zinta.

In the meanwhie, the excited parents arrive for the great day, the muhurat. Ony to be tod the truth by their kin. They te them that they have been cheated and they wi never cheat them again, or never want to be actors, actresses or stars again.

The venerabe Dada Saheb Phake in his 131st year hepessy ooks at a these rackets fourishing in the name of the game he had started. The crows sitting on his statue keep aughing at him a the time.

A Arudas, Teicherry: For the ife of me, I can’t understand how an actor ike Rajnikant can make it as an actor to be worshipped even though he does ony one fim in two years.

That’s what I ca sheer star charisma. The peope who worship him think he is ike one of them. He beieves ike he is one of them. He sti has his annua gatherings with his bus conductor friends. Stories of his innumerabe charities, his daiy phianthropic acts, his getting hundreds of coupes married and even providing homes for the deserving poor are too many to put together in a book. Some years ago he just made a statement that threw out Jayaaitha and her government. Then one day some years ago, Dev Anand was the chief guest at a major awards function at Chennai. Dev’s entry was received with thunderous appause. Then Rajnikant who was shooting ate waked on to the stage and touched Dev’s feet. That was the sign for his fans to go crazy for the next ten minutes. Their God had worshipped Dev before whom (Dev) he, must be certainy a bigger God than theirs. ater Rajni tod them that what they fet was true, that he woud never be a star ike Dev as many ives as he got as a gift. Rajni ives a simpe ife, wears on ordinary jeans and T-shirts and wears rubber chappas to the most dignified of occasions. He sti drives his od Fiat and speaks the anguage of the peope and speaks to them ike his own peope. That’s why he is Rajnikant. That’s why there can’t be another ike him.

Ram Kumar Sharma, Udaipur: It happened during the shooting of one of KC Bokadia’s fim. I made friends with a senior femae dancer. She tod me dancing was her ony profession and that her business was to bring more and more young taent into fims. I was interested. She encouraged me. She said I woud be a great hero one day, a chaenge to a the Khans and others who woud try to compete with him. A few days ater she said she was eaving for Mumbai. She asked me to pay her a sum of Rs 5000 “which was enough” to make it because I don’t beieve in cheating youngsters. My reatives, friends and cassmates asked me not to fa for her promise but I refused. I reached Mumbai in quest of her address. I have been to every studio in the ast six months but have sti not found her. I don’t want to be an actor now, I don’t want to get my money back. My ony ambition now is to catch her, expose her, get her arrested and punished so that others may not foow her and innocents ike me woud not foow women ike her.

I am very sorry about your being cheated and that too by a woman. But I am a praise for your determination to find that woman and expose her for what she is. You wi be doing great service to severa young men especiay boys and girs outside Mumbai. Keep tracking her, you may find her in some studio or the other. I don’t know how I can hep you but how I wish I coud.

Shreedhar Shetty, Mangaore: A man caed Shekhar Shetty came home to Kadri Market in Mangaore. He said he was production manager in Mumbai. He was aways dressed in the best coourfu cothes, aways wore white shoes and spoke severa anguages fuenty. He said he was not a secretary or an agent but a friend and an advisor. He said a the big actors and actresses came to him for advice. He was wiing to hep some of us young boys. We were interested in acting. If we pay him Rs 10000 each he woud return the money as soon as he succeeded in getting them a break. We were impressed and gave him the money. Our parents too didn’t ask any questions. He had made a very deep impression on them. He eft and asked us to foow him in Mumbai in another ten days because there was tough competition between the Shettys. We reached Mumbai ony to find out that indeed the days of the Shettys were sowy coming to an end. But what was reay shocking was that there were hundreds of Shekhar Shettys around but not the Shekhar Shetty who had come to Kadri Market and taken away our money.

There is very itte you can do, just curse yoursef that you have faen into a trap and take it as a warning not to fa into such traps again. And then try to spread the news to as many of your friends as possibe.

Manoj Kumar, Jodhpur: My friends say that I resembe the young Hrithik Roshan. They say I shoud immediatey go to Mumbai and try to make it ike Hrithik. What do you say?

Resembing Hrithik is no quaification to be an actor. You can make it as a dupicate if you want. Thank God, good od IS Johar is no more, or I am sure he woud find dupicates of Hrithik and Abhishek Bachchan and start and reease the fim with them and genuiney harm the future of the genuine Hrithik and Abhishek for good.Sundari Thapa, New Dehi: I have come to Mumbai to make it as an actress but I am finding it very difficut. They say you need a “Godfather” or you have to seep around with infuentia men who can make you a star overnight. What do you advise me to do?

You seem to be a determined gir. It is extremey difficut to te you how to find a Godfather because there are various kinds of Godfathers and the word Godfather has itsef become a bad word. As for the seeping around part of your question it a depends on you. You can seep or you can stand on your own merit and show the word that the girs of today can make it without the hep of base infuences and fake Godfathers.