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[nitinchatterjee]

APNA TIME AAYEGA- When waiting for roles seems never ending.

From getting your first real chance to act in front of the camera, when you & your friends start thinking that you’ve arrived as a star, to maintaining focus when work dries up, Nitin Chatterjee offers survival tips to actors in the toughest of industries.

A lot of acting gurus tell you that acting is all about feeling the character and being in the moment. But according to me, if you can’t get acting jobs, its not about anything at all. You can be a working actor in the real sense of the word only if someone out there is not just prepared to watch your acting but also pay you for it. To survive emotionally and professionally in a city like Mumbai, you’ve got to earn a living & nourish your caged self-esteem.

What are your chances?

Renowned film producer & director Mahesh Bhatt in one of his older interviews for a film magazine had once remarked that lakhs of people come to Mumbai everyday to become actors but only a tiny percentage are able to find some work and even a tinier percentage from them become successful in their acting career. 

The statistics in Mumbai are horrifying, with nearly 88-90% actors being out of work at any given time. What’s interesting to note however is that only these 10-12% actors tend to work continuously and seen on screen regularly. The rest keep on giving auditions in the hope of grabbing a good role one day.

The idea therefore is to be in the top 10% category of working actors. That BIG BREAK is very rare to happen and is as good as someone winning the lottery. What no hard working actor would like to find himself doing is sitting in a dingy local bar in Mumbai having a drink in frustration & singing “APNA TIME AAYEGA”

Acting schools & Drama institutes

While it is true that people do make it without going to a drama institute, it is also true that many actors study theatre & drama before setting their foot in the industry. There are reputed drama institutes like NSD (National School of Drama) & FTII (Film & Television Institute of India) where various courses in media & entertainment are offered. Study from scratch as to how movies are made & trust me you’ll feel better equipped to handle unemployment in this industry. A multi skilled actor will mostly find something or the other to do. He won’t sit idle for long.

Building contacts

This entertainment business is fueled by whom you know in the industry. Therefore your most likely source of employment is meeting possible employers like producers, casting directors, casting assistants and coordinators. In between jobs, keep working on sharpening your acting skills. If there’s something going on in a theatre festival, film festival or an acting workshop, take it- you never know who might be watching or participating in it. I used to attend every possible festivals myself like Kala Ghoda Arts festival, Prithvi theatre festival, Mumbai International Film festivals to name a few. Being a part of these festivals added a lot of value in my life. I made some good industry contacts too on the side. I remember meeting an assistant director in movies at this film festival, who called me for an audition 6 months later when he was able to offer me paid work. 

Prithvi Theatre at Juhu is a great place to keep yourself busy with. If you’re lucky enough to join a drama company, you’ll perhaps get to learn dizzying range of acting techniques, voice training, movement training, audition techniques: plus you never know whom you’ll end up meeting in the infamous Prithvi Cafe. I have personally met Makrand Deshpande, Raza Murad, Juhi Babbar, Sudhir Pandey, Saif Ali Khan, Kirron Kher, Rajat Bedi, Deepika Padukone, Rajesh Puri, Sharat Saxena, Tiku Talsania and many more known industry professionals there. All I am trying to say is, stay busy. Inactivity is the biggest enemy of both your acting skills & your drive to find work.

Be persistent & keep going

The difference between aspiring (I hate using the word struggling) actors & working actors isn’t talent as many would like to believe. I’ve come across some really good aspiring and bizarre working actors, but those working actors are prepared to cope with the nightmare of not knowing where the next pay cheque is coming from. The state of being financially broke or “kadki” undermines the most burning enthusiasm, so do anything within reason to keep some money coming in. Plenty of actors I know work part-time in international BPO’s or call centers as they are called in India. They are located in huge numbers at Mindspace-Malad & Hiranandani Gardens-Powai. Some actors are working as assistant directors to learn the art of film making while pursuing acting. Of late there’s been a surge in casting agencies and I’ve met many young aspiring actors working as casting assistants and interns in them. They don’t get paid much there but as the wise saying goes, “something is better than nothing.” It more or less keeps you in the swim with regards to what project is happening and which production house is making it.

Any work or job that allows you sometime to hit auditions you were called for is worth its weight in gold. Jobs like gym instructor, data entry, receptionist, photographer etc has helped actors work part time during the day and appear for auditions between 6 pm and 8 pm.

In between all this, keep networking. Get busy finding out which production house is coming up with a new show, who is directing what show, where is casting taking place & what are the requirements. If you get to find out all this you’ll be in a better position to target your portfolio at the right places. 

Make time get some exercise, indulge in swimming, yoga. Take a dance class or zumba class, learn to play a new musical instrument, enroll in some acting workshop with a reputed company, go watch some good plays.There are a lot of things you could do with your free time when you’re not busy acting.

Don’t be lazy for your auditions

Always be prepared for your auditions & avoid procrastination. Every time you get a call from a casting agency like NITIN Chatterjee Casting Company to audition for a particular project, spring in action & hit that audition without fail. Audition is your only chance to showcase your range as an actor. Prepare yourself well & do not be late at any cost. There’s no point reaching an audition after it is closed. Leave early from home if you know you’ll get stuck in traffic. Casting team isn’t interested to know why you were late. Remember, an opportunity gone is gone & there’s nothing you can do about it.

Final Thought

The old maxim still holds true: Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Do not simply lock yourself in your room and expect that “one call” for a role which would change your destiny. Instead don’t bother much about it, put your head down, keep working on your craft, keep hitting auditions, keep upgrading your skills, keep networking and stay in a positive frame of mind. Keep an eye on your destination, if one path is blocked, take another path but don’t change your destination. Its only then you’ll be able to lead a fulfilled & purposeful life as an artist. 

Best wishes!

[nitinchatterjee]

It’s quite frequent that actors are told how to perform a certain character or embody an idea that doesn’t belong to them.

Wherever you go for an audition, casting directors or their assistants are always telling you “what’s your type”, “what kind of roles you must attempt” and so on. It is for this reason that several actors get lost in “who I am supposed to be?” This happens in the AUDITION ROOMS and while shooting ON SETS, where actors push themselves into becoming what the director wants them to be. Sometimes actors feel creatively blocked in moving as they want to, getting held up in an idea that leaves very little space for them to explore the part.

BE AWARE OF WHAT VALUE ADDITION YOU’RE DOING. The most important thing that you have to offer is yourself.

Some of the television soaps and A grade films that I booked was all thanks to my conventional middle class look, despite most of my actor and non actor friends telling me, “Hey Nitin! It would be difficult to get acting roles with your non-heroic looks.” May be it was due to this reason that I initially started subconsciously avoiding roles having requirements of middle class looks. I tried auditions where they demanded UPMARKET looks and got rejected straightaway at the studio doors of Four Bungalows, MHADA & Aaram Nagar, Versova. After experimenting with auditions for a while, I realized that people were looking for characters and not heroes. They were interested in me, not someone else. This just doesn’t go for looks which in itself is something that you can and should work on as an actor, but applies to every single trait of your personality that makes you uniquely you. You will be able to shape into a character that is different than you but you have to include in it your sensibilities, your touch, your peculiarities.

TRUST YOUR IMPULSE

Your own understanding of a character is the most powerful weapon you have as an actor. You must let go off someone else’s interpretation of a character. Of course you should consider the background and basic description but act as if that character is you. Go as per your own natural flow and swing instead of operating out of an intellectual’s control. You will feel frustrated and suffocated in the shackles of someone else’s idea if you don’t trust your impulse.

LOOK AFTER YOUR OWN CRAFT

Just how musicians look after their own instruments, you must look after your own craft as an actor and nurture it. You will come across several acting gurus dolling out actor’s exercises and preparing acting manuals which are great but in the end what really matters is what works for you. Get into the habit of a daily acting practice routine. You must become your own teacher. Come out of “Right way of acting” that was taught to you in commercial acting schools. You must feel the character inside you and move as per how your nervous system responds to your own understanding.

LISTEN ACTIVELY TO THE CASTING DIRECTOR’S BRIEF

Whatever I have written above doesn’t imply that you should act the way you want to. It certainly however means that you must add your own truth to bring the character to life. An actor would really enjoy playing a character one hundred percent that he has experienced in some way or the other.

Therefore listen actively to the casting director when he explains the brief. It may get tricky if you don’t listen actively. Because in the AUDITION ROOM you have your appearance & personality that are the elements on the surface. If you listen actively you will be immediately able to connect to certain things that will help you effortlessly connect to the certain character type which has nothing to do with your appearance.

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST- ASK QUESTIONS

I always encourage actors to ask questions. The more questions you ask, the more familiar you will get with the sides of the character. Embrace it! It will make you more confident in your audition because you are now not only aware of the strengths & characteristics that you are bringing to the table but you will also force the casting director to go beyond your look and appearance.

In your real life you meet so many people, you get so many experiences and you go through so many emotions. This should make you realize that there are so many people already living inside you who are eager to live through the characters you’ll play.

Go ahead, act & create characters that only you can. Remember YOU ARE UNIQUE!