Excerpts from interview With anupam kher
Most of us know Anupam Kher as an actor par excellence. Mr. Kher is renowned for his versatile acting, both in the world of theatre and films and his stage is truly the whole world. What many of us may not know is his love and commitment to the profession of acting that has culminated in starting an acting school called ‘ACTOR PREPARES’. The school, founded in 2005, now operates in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Chennai and the UK with a mission to prepare competent and professionally committed actors, skilled in every aspect of an actor’s art and craft – physical, mental and emotional. It lays the foundation for a self-fulfilling and meaningful career as a performer.
On a warm Monday afternoon of June 11, 2012, we (Ameet Patel and Nandita Parekh) had the rare opportunity to meet with Anupam Kher to understand from him the profession of acting, the commitment required, the opportunities and challenges and the future of the profession. We share with you, his thoughts, as communicated to us . . . . . .
Unfortunately, we cannot share with you the eloquence with which he dealt with each question and the warmth with which he received us in his ever-busy schedule.
BCAJ – Is ‘performing arts’ just an art or a profession?
Anupam Kher (AK) – To me, performing arts, be it dancing, singing, acting – is a profes-sion. Art is an expression of one’s emotions, one’s feelings and to that end, everyone is an artist. All of us have drawn pictures as children, but that does not make any of us professional artists. Similarly, most people will have an ability to dance or sing or even act – but that does not make them professional performers. One of the differences is that a professional artist shares his work or his art with others, and pursues it as the main purpose of his life. For a professional artist his art is not just an expression of his emotions, but a driving force of his life, a source of livelihood combined with a compelling need to share. To this end, I am of the view that performing arts in general and acting in particular is definitely a profession that needs specialised skills, training and orientation.
BCAJ As I understand, the acting school founded by you – ‘Actor Prepares’ is committed to helping talented individuals become professional actors. How much of the acting profession as you see around you has gone through some professional training? And is it very different in other countries in Europe or the USA?
AK -We are a young country; we got our independence in 1947. Before that for 200 years we were ruled by the British and before that by the Mughals. Yet, if you see, art in its various forms is an integral part of our culture and the early architecture – the carving of Ajanta, the miniature paintings . . . . all depict scenes of dancing, singing and other forms of performing arts. Each state has its own folk art and thus, we are a culturally rich country in terms of various forms of performing arts that have been handed down from earlier eras. As a country, we have given to the world the earliest available book on acting and stage craft called the ‘Natya Shastra’, written somewhere between 200 BC and 200 AD. In the early periods after independence, the country had many priorities – agricultural reforms, industrial reforms, poverty eradication, education and so on – acting and performing arts were clearly not a national priority. On the other hand, the people of the country were hungry for entertainment and were ready to lap up anything that was given to them as ‘entertainment’. The audience was not discerning, and hence, we have a situation that many of the movies made in the early post-independence era, we may enjoy today due to nostalgic reasons, but find that the acting skills were often non-existent. In these last 60 odd years, there must be over 20,000 actors who have appeared in our films. How many are remembered for their acting skills? Hardly 10-12, a number we can count on our fingertips. This was mainly because cinema was the primary source of entertainment; the only other option being ‘khetiwadi’ programmes on black and white TV or a once a week show such as ‘Chhayageet’. Watching a movie every weekend was almost a religion for seekers of entertainment during this skewed demand-supply situation. In such a situation, most actors did not have any formal training – professionally trained actors were few and far in between, I being one of them. Interestingly, performing artists in the music and dance space always went through rigorous training, primarily because of the classical forms and schools of music and dance . . . . Or perhaps because it was easier for the audience, however undemanding, to distinguish the good from the bad in these art forms. Today, the scenario has dramatically changed. With globalisation, people in India have a wide choice in the area of entertainment, from multiplexes to multitude of TV channels and live performances by world-renowned artists. So, the person who used to sit at the edge of the seat and watch a movie, today sits back in his chair and says “Okay, let me see what you have!” The audience today is discerning and demanding and that has created a need for professionalism in the performing arts. The ‘fluke’ artists will no longer hold centre stage – the future clearly belongs to actors who are not only trained to be good actors, but are also professional and disciplined in their conduct.
BCAJ -What are the macro changes that are likely to impact the profession of acting?
AK It is only 8-9 years back that cinema was given the status of ‘industry’ by the Government of India. Till that time, the Government did not even recognise cinema as an industry. With this recognition, there is a sea change in the way the movie industry is viewed. The access to commercial financing, the corporatisation within the cinema industry, the international platform for screening Indian movies – all this has led to professionalism all around. This includes the technology used, the distribution systems, the pricing and also, the acting. Otherwise, till recently, anyone with a trace of talent believed that ‘I too can act’. And, perhaps that is somewhat true – because I believe that anyone who can lie, can act; for lying is the first form of acting. So, most of us can act!
BCAJ -On that note, we would like to know how do you deal with situations where you are required to act in a role or propagate a message that you don’t personally subscribe to. Does this create a conflict in your mind? And if so, how do you deal with it?
AK Acting always requires you to portray yourself as a person you are not. It is my job as an actor to represent the character that I am required to portray. When I am Dinanath or Asgar Ali in a movie, that is not who I am. Anupam Kher the actor is not the same as Anupam Kher the person. When I fight against corruption and go on stage with Anna Hazare – that is me as a person. Thus, an actor will play roles that are different from what he stands for, what he may be as a person – and, in my mind, there is no conflict in this respect. Acting is part of my life, it is not my life. (For us, at BCAS, Anupam Kher who voluntarily and readily agreed to speak to demotivated CA students after a very dismal examination result and helped them regain their self confidence – is Anupam Kher, the person!)
BCAJ -An actor has a great influence on the audience and to that end a greater social responsibility. In that light, does it matter what kind of roles you choose to do?
AK – A movie or a play is entertainment, not education – it is not good, not bad, just entertainment. The meaning that a viewer derives from the movie is his prerogative. Also, an anti- hero or a villain is required to show the contrast. A ‘Raam’ is viewed in comparison to a ‘Raavan’; without ‘Raavan’, ‘Raam’ has limited significance. I do not think that people judge an actor by the roles he plays. The well-known villains of the Indian film industry are some of the best individuals that I have come across and I believe they are well respected by society. I have played a diverse set of roles and not restricted myself to the role of a hero or a villain or a comedian. There are nine emotions and as an actor it is important for me to express a variety of emotions – for that it is important to do different roles.
BCAJ – Do you think that there is adequate mentoring in your profession for the newcomers that helps them to clearly understand the distinction between their real life and their reel life?
AK – While acting is a profession, cinema is an industry. It is for each actor to determine his personal philosophy on how he wants to treat his reel life and real life – there is no reason for any mentoring in that respect. A profession requires training – and with that training how you pursue your profession, whose guidance you seek and who you choose as your role models is your personal choice.
BCAJ – Actors have a capacity to create a significant public influence and opinion. The profession of acting trains you to communicate very effectively with your audience and hence, gives you an ability to reach out to a vast audience effectively. But, on the other hand, the private acts of a well-known personality are also minutely examined by the public. Do you think there is a need for actors to conduct them-selves any differently in their private lives?
AK – Well, as a chartered accountant you too have an influence on the public, and so does a leading doctor or a lawyer. It is for each person to decide how he wants to conduct himself in his personal life, irrespective of whether or not he has the ability to influence others. As actors, perhaps we are more conscious of the image that we create of ourselves – but that does not make us any different from others. We all have to conduct ourselves in a manner that suits our conscience, our value system. Also, at a different level, no one forces you to watch a movie – it is a choice that you have. So, the kind of movies you choose to watch is entirely your choice.
BCAJ – Earlier you mentioned that a professional actor needs to be disciplined. We as outsiders often hear that movies get delayed due to the inability of the actors to live up to their committed schedules. Any views?
AK – I thought we were to talk about performing arts as a profession – this is a question on individual behavioural traits. However, when you hear that an actor did not meet his schedule there could be a variety of reasons, like the payment that was committed to him is not made, that a number of times when he has blocked his time for a producer there have been last-minute cancellations from the producer’s side and so on. I do not believe that without a valid reason or a serious constraint any actor would not adhere to his commitment, as he too is interested in a timely release of the movie. Further, the time discipline that was not very important till recently is now becoming of paramount importance due to corporatisation of the movie industry and the manner in which it is financed. The word of mouth agreement has been replaced by crisply worded contracts that run into 20-30 pages and there are consequences of not meeting the commitments made. Internationally this has been the practice for a long period now, but in India, we are seeing this now.
BCAJ – Is there adequate opportunity for a new-comer who wants to enter the profession of acting to learn or to acquire structured training? We know that you have founded a school of acting, but are there adequate such institutions? Is there room for consolidation of training, larger institutes and accreditation?
There are many acting schools and many of them are fraud institutions. We are masters at replicating and selling something that has no value. But ultimately the institutes that will draw students are the ones that provide honest, sincere training and make a long-term commitment to training. The product that comes out of the school is the strongest evidence of the quality of training. Also, today’s newcomers have an ability to learn quickly and to gather knowledge and training from a variety of sources. So, the courses that required 3-4 years earlier can now be taught in months. This Internet and Google age has made information easy to seek but has taken away the sense of wonder from today’s generation.
An acting school is not just about teaching the acting skills. It is education and all education teaches primarily one thing – the ability to distinguish the right from the wrong and the good from the bad. Thus, a good acting school also helps an actor make better decisions and choices. Also, training is not something that happens at the beginning of your professional career – it is something you go back to every time you realise the need for further enhancement to your skills. It is an ongoing process to an actor’s career and very often, the persons who seek training have already acted in plays, in TV shows/serials and movies.
I believe that every individual, whether an actor or not, gets at least one chance that will materially change his life – if he is able to rise up to that chance and seize the opportunity when it is knocking at his door, he will have a different future than when he lets that one chance pass.
BCAJ – What is the future of the profession?
AK – I firmly believe that this is the golden era for professional actors. The audience is educated and has an appetite for a wide range of movies. Earlier, the movies were all made on a standard theme and dialogues such as ‘maine mere haathonse kheer banaayi hai’ ‘kaash tere pita aaj jinda hote’ became so clichéd and predictable. Today, we have movies like Shanghai, Kahaani and A Wednesday that appeal to the audience. The audience is intelligent and appreciates good cinema, good acting. Further, globalisation has also had a big impact on the acting profession. Many Indian movies are screened across the globe and that has created, for some actors, opportunities to work in international films with very credible directors and production houses. This is definitely the most exciting period for an actor who wants to make a mark. But, it is also a period where an actor will have to work hard and display a high level of sincerity and commitment to the profession.
As we ended our meeting, we realised the common string that runs between the acting profession and our profession. A professional actor benefits from training, just as a good articleship makes a world of a difference to a chartered accountant. Further, training imparted at the beginning of the career is not enough – there is a need for ‘Continuing Professional Education’. The times have changed and globalisation has had an impact on the profession of acting, just as it has had on the profession of chartered accountancy. For some, the world has opened up, for others there is a dismal future – for it is in these time that the destiny of a professional, be it a chartered accountant or an actor, will be defined by his training, his hard work, his commitment and most of all, his ability to recognise and seize that one chance that offers him a very different future!
