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He puts the sparkle in stars
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Want to take a shot at Bollywood? You don't have to go to Mumbai for training. Try the Acting Lab that starts next month in the City.
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Kishore Namit Kapoor (above), the man behind the Acting Lab; Esha Deol with her classmates at the lab in Bombay.
MOST YOUNG aspiring actors in the City, who are yearning to make it in Bollywood, may find their answers in Kishore Namit Kapoor's Acting Lab.
Mr. Kapoor, a graduate from FTII, Pune, has been training actors for the past 25 years, and has even acted in the Hindi films Kranti and Ashanti.
He has been a guru to Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan "who is focused and passionate about his work", and Kariena Kapoor "who is really spontaneous and talent personified."
So, does he handle star brats with kid gloves? No way. "Priyanshu, Arjun Rampal, Apoorva Agnihotri, Mahima Choudhary, and Neha are also from my academy.
But they are doing equally well and have been trained just like the others. In fact, the first thing I tell the star kids is that if they are looking to be treated in a special way, this is not the place for them. I remember Uday Chopra saying that they as star children are under more pressure to perform well. Star kids are treated just as normal. For, if I keep praising them, it is their loss."
Why did he choose Bangalore to start his lab? "Because there is definitely a lot of talent here." Many aspiring actors go to Mumbai and incur heavy costs of living, just to attend his classes. So it made very good sense to start a lab here.
Why call it a lab? Because this trainer believes that a lot of experimentation happens at the institute and this helps a person evolve as an actor. "Times have changed; there is no trial-and-error method in our line."
The course, which commences on August 7, is rigorous and will spans over three months with classes six days a week.
The in-depth training programme includes personality development, public speaking, improvisation (of a scene or situation), make-up techniques, diction and pronunciation, dance, fight sequences, and so on.
Besides this, there will also be character study sessions to help students to get under the skin of the role they have to portray.
The institute organised one such session for Vivek Oberoi, the latest sensation, for his character in the film Company.
The course fee is Rs. 40,000, which includes training material, manuals, dubbing studio sessions, and so on. Besides this, "if they ever want to come to Mumbai and continue with some aspect of the course, I won't charge them at all," says Mr. Kapoor. Students will be selected on the basis of their talent and passion for cinema.
Mr. Kapoor is a disciplinarian and is called the "lovable Hitler". So strict is he about his integrity and fairplay that when his own daughter attended his class for two months, no one knew about it.
Though he feels Bollywood is honoured to have actors such as Dilip Kumar who are "institutions in themselves", his all-time favourite is Aamir Khan, who is "spontaneous as well as methodical".
Mr. Kapoor's acting classes are specifically tailored for Bollywood. "I love Hindi cinema. We make fantasies and larger-than-life films to entertain people. Look at Devdas, the magnification and glamour are simply so amazing," he says.
It is not just aspiring actors who visit his academy, but even stars like Nagma, Arbaaz Khan, and Sonali Bendre keep going back to Mr. Kapoor's Academy to better themselves as actors.
He has also put models Madhu Sapre and Amar Upadhay through the paces.
Students in Bangalore will be trained by the same faculty as in Mumbai.
Mr. Kishore himself will visit the lab 10 days a month. Besides him, the faculty includes the legendary B.V. Mishra, Vidur (who knows nine languages), Arvind Pandey (a qualified method actor from the Lee Strasbourg School, New York), Shakoor (who trained Hrithik Roshan in dance), Mohit Kumar (dubbing), and James (action sequences).
Registrations are open till August 7, and those interested may contact 5066660.
TINA GARG
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