Bhumika forwarded me this brief article, which I think does a pretty good job of talking about the reality on getting (acting) roles in the industry and following is my (not-so-brief!) spiel.
[ Underdogs have it tough ]
Breaking-In into a World of Stars
The industry is made up of jerks - the 'commercial' angle is what they are concerned about, which is valid, but it gets murky when they assign completely subjective values on the 'commercial-potential' of scripts, actors et al. I have some idea on how many of these films work having seen the (commercial) results at the plexes.
But...they are blind to that. Living like Alice in Wonderland. It's amazing how good they are in conning themselves. Though I haven't interacted with many, I think the majority believe that they are the prophets and know what works. Where do we see this? Well...in practice, where else!
I have been talking to some of our pals about this, especially Mr. (Actor) Khanna - take the films that have come out over the years and make a list of non-entities, people with no connections. who came out of the blue and made their mark. When you do that, you shall find that the list is very small and even now...these guys are not the preferred ones.
I think after years, and with low-budget films perhaps being the best model to play around, guys like Irrfan Khan and Kay Kay managed to make it. There could be more, but...these two guys come to my mind. I was a fan of Manoj Bajpai but...he has vanished. I think Jimmy Shergill is there too; he is good but then the other two chaps are at another level. And there's a new breed coming it seems.
The point is - there is a tremendous belief (and application of it) in the industry that you need 'stars', 'known-faces'; talent could be good et al, but...we need to sell our films. What doesn't matter, though they perhaps in their pseudo-philosophising do stress on - script / story.
Truth be told - even the so-called good 'masalas' are fraught with flaws; they can get away by at least getting some stuff right. But it's amazing how they ignore guys who are good in their job, who don't have some 'star' value, especially when it comes to acting.
I think finally some (fresh) directors are stepping-in and getting opportunities - Kashyap, Bannerjee (Khosla ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky...), Rajkumar Gupta (Aamir), Navdeep Singh (Manorma 6ft Under), Neeraj Pandey (Wednesday) and there would be more. Even if they have been hired for commercial reasons (they perhaps would come cheap), the fact that they have done a decent job of telling stories, they are preferred now, since...these films get in the money.
Guess what - these guys are the ones who have stayed away from the 'stars'. Perhaps they didn't have the money, but...I think this is where the best road lie to do decent stuff.
BUT...what the article didn't mention and what I have believed for years - there is only one way to break-in (and...you still may not be able to break-in as the jerks, the powers-that-be could always be closing the doors) - you need to be highly skilled and....deliver tremendous performance. If on a scale of 10, good is 7, you need to perform at 8-9, only then you can hope for something.
You sure can get lucky, but...turn around and see how many guys made it. I think of an excellent actor - Pawan Malhotra, and it's only now the young guys/directors have brought him back. That way - I love Kashyap - he is the guy who works with the finest of talent all the time. And now...it seems he is getting completely unknown guys and throwing them at the world and with their solid performances the world is talking about them.
One of the stunning performances in the past years has been Deepak Dobriyal's character in Omkara; people don't realize how good Saif Khan looks (and he acts superbly no doubt) due to his side-kick. The moment the two come together, the screen starts to dance! You just want to see those guys interact and play around. I had no idea about this guy, but today it feels very good to know that he is getting solid roles and people are talking about him.
Can he take on the stars? In terms of performance, he would be much higher. In terms of 'power', well no, and guess what - that won't be his fault. The biggies have decided he doesn't have the looks and size, so their attention will be on others. But...take a story, where you think you can fit him in, and if you can tell it well, it will shine much better than any masala. And by 'shine', I do mean it would make more money.
The other reality is - all these guys (including SRK being a self-driven dude) have taken years to reach where they are, literally. Irrfan, Kay Kay and the breed have been at it for years. Not just come in, get a lead role and reach the top (if that IS the top.) The 'rulers' of the field don't look at you and that critical component - media, definitely doesn't; it may make a remark or two, but eventually it's all about the honey, which only the stars provide as apparently the audience loves them. Well...that's how it works in the (real) world.
I have been reading recently interviews of people / writers / cinematographers / directors, and them taking on the 'Auteur' theory (which the French guys - Truffaut, Godard et al had championed) - director is the sole driver of a film. It perhaps was true when they worked and how they worked, but even then it may not have been true. You need others and their value-addition is essential.
Yet...you never hear of the 'others'. You only hear of stars, or directors (in the media). As...that's the nature of the media - it's not in their best interest to focus on a writer or DP or someone else. They need a 'face' and these guys since ages have been built as 'Gods' and that's who they seek.
I believe it is possible to focus on others and if you throw enough spotlight, they become stars too. It happens rarely but...it sure is possible. Though media have their own agendas and getting to the 'truth' isn't likely to be one of them.
I felt thrilled for that guy, Pookutty - now he would be a star back home, thanks to the Oscar. Just by one event, he now brings in 'added' value. It's interesting that he believes he has done much better work before and only now he is being noticed; of course Oscar is not about the the best, after-all even that's a subjective deal. Point is - finally he gets recognition and he seems pretty good at it (of course.) Sure...the limelight will waiver, but within the game at least his value gets much more, though he had already been working with the big boys like Bhansali.
It also seems that the road to stardom is changing for people who are not from some high-profile 'family'. Good performance / work is the only way. In fact, here's another thing - make a new list - of all the 'family' contacts who came into the industry in the past years, people who got the breaks because it was easy for them. Guess what - that list too would be extremely small. Point being even if you are Saif Khan or Hrithik, you need to be good at what you do. You may get a break, but you can't survive if you can't deliver.
If you don't have any contacts, then there's no alternative but to be exceptionally good. And you won't become that if you are not focused and not working on your 'passion'. And even if you are, it's likely you may never make it ;-)
So...where do you find the solace or...the material success that one strives for? Hmm...
In the end, (here's my favorite dialogue - mine ;-) - Life is about numbers. Or...hours. You need to put them in. Else...you may value-add lives of others - papa, mummy, uncle, aunty, wife, husband, bhaiya, bhena...which if it works for you is great. But...if the amount of time you need to put in is less than the threshold, then...forget it. Of course, only you should know what the threshold is and...one may never know!
The underlying thing remains - master your damn domain....keep working at it...don't get carried-away...keep slogging...keep practicing and then maybe...you will churn out some good work. Likely it may not get the required 'release', but...you would perhaps justify your potential, at least do something good that would satisfy you.
Though yes, within the rules of the world, you could still be a flunky. You may not be able to buy a car - you may have to stick to your 8-yr old Pulsar. Yeah...that's one for me ;-)
[ Underdogs have it tough ]
[ Underdogs have it tough ]
Breaking-In into a World of Stars
The industry is made up of jerks - the 'commercial' angle is what they are concerned about, which is valid, but it gets murky when they assign completely subjective values on the 'commercial-potential' of scripts, actors et al. I have some idea on how many of these films work having seen the (commercial) results at the plexes.
But...they are blind to that. Living like Alice in Wonderland. It's amazing how good they are in conning themselves. Though I haven't interacted with many, I think the majority believe that they are the prophets and know what works. Where do we see this? Well...in practice, where else!
I have been talking to some of our pals about this, especially Mr. (Actor) Khanna - take the films that have come out over the years and make a list of non-entities, people with no connections. who came out of the blue and made their mark. When you do that, you shall find that the list is very small and even now...these guys are not the preferred ones.
I think after years, and with low-budget films perhaps being the best model to play around, guys like Irrfan Khan and Kay Kay managed to make it. There could be more, but...these two guys come to my mind. I was a fan of Manoj Bajpai but...he has vanished. I think Jimmy Shergill is there too; he is good but then the other two chaps are at another level. And there's a new breed coming it seems.
The point is - there is a tremendous belief (and application of it) in the industry that you need 'stars', 'known-faces'; talent could be good et al, but...we need to sell our films. What doesn't matter, though they perhaps in their pseudo-philosophising do stress on - script / story.
Truth be told - even the so-called good 'masalas' are fraught with flaws; they can get away by at least getting some stuff right. But it's amazing how they ignore guys who are good in their job, who don't have some 'star' value, especially when it comes to acting.
I think finally some (fresh) directors are stepping-in and getting opportunities - Kashyap, Bannerjee (Khosla ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky...), Rajkumar Gupta (Aamir), Navdeep Singh (Manorma 6ft Under), Neeraj Pandey (Wednesday) and there would be more. Even if they have been hired for commercial reasons (they perhaps would come cheap), the fact that they have done a decent job of telling stories, they are preferred now, since...these films get in the money.
Guess what - these guys are the ones who have stayed away from the 'stars'. Perhaps they didn't have the money, but...I think this is where the best road lie to do decent stuff.
BUT...what the article didn't mention and what I have believed for years - there is only one way to break-in (and...you still may not be able to break-in as the jerks, the powers-that-be could always be closing the doors) - you need to be highly skilled and....deliver tremendous performance. If on a scale of 10, good is 7, you need to perform at 8-9, only then you can hope for something.
You sure can get lucky, but...turn around and see how many guys made it. I think of an excellent actor - Pawan Malhotra, and it's only now the young guys/directors have brought him back. That way - I love Kashyap - he is the guy who works with the finest of talent all the time. And now...it seems he is getting completely unknown guys and throwing them at the world and with their solid performances the world is talking about them.
One of the stunning performances in the past years has been Deepak Dobriyal's character in Omkara; people don't realize how good Saif Khan looks (and he acts superbly no doubt) due to his side-kick. The moment the two come together, the screen starts to dance! You just want to see those guys interact and play around. I had no idea about this guy, but today it feels very good to know that he is getting solid roles and people are talking about him.
Can he take on the stars? In terms of performance, he would be much higher. In terms of 'power', well no, and guess what - that won't be his fault. The biggies have decided he doesn't have the looks and size, so their attention will be on others. But...take a story, where you think you can fit him in, and if you can tell it well, it will shine much better than any masala. And by 'shine', I do mean it would make more money.
The other reality is - all these guys (including SRK being a self-driven dude) have taken years to reach where they are, literally. Irrfan, Kay Kay and the breed have been at it for years. Not just come in, get a lead role and reach the top (if that IS the top.) The 'rulers' of the field don't look at you and that critical component - media, definitely doesn't; it may make a remark or two, but eventually it's all about the honey, which only the stars provide as apparently the audience loves them. Well...that's how it works in the (real) world.
I have been reading recently interviews of people / writers / cinematographers / directors, and them taking on the 'Auteur' theory (which the French guys - Truffaut, Godard et al had championed) - director is the sole driver of a film. It perhaps was true when they worked and how they worked, but even then it may not have been true. You need others and their value-addition is essential.
Yet...you never hear of the 'others'. You only hear of stars, or directors (in the media). As...that's the nature of the media - it's not in their best interest to focus on a writer or DP or someone else. They need a 'face' and these guys since ages have been built as 'Gods' and that's who they seek.
I believe it is possible to focus on others and if you throw enough spotlight, they become stars too. It happens rarely but...it sure is possible. Though media have their own agendas and getting to the 'truth' isn't likely to be one of them.
I felt thrilled for that guy, Pookutty - now he would be a star back home, thanks to the Oscar. Just by one event, he now brings in 'added' value. It's interesting that he believes he has done much better work before and only now he is being noticed; of course Oscar is not about the the best, after-all even that's a subjective deal. Point is - finally he gets recognition and he seems pretty good at it (of course.) Sure...the limelight will waiver, but within the game at least his value gets much more, though he had already been working with the big boys like Bhansali.
It also seems that the road to stardom is changing for people who are not from some high-profile 'family'. Good performance / work is the only way. In fact, here's another thing - make a new list - of all the 'family' contacts who came into the industry in the past years, people who got the breaks because it was easy for them. Guess what - that list too would be extremely small. Point being even if you are Saif Khan or Hrithik, you need to be good at what you do. You may get a break, but you can't survive if you can't deliver.
If you don't have any contacts, then there's no alternative but to be exceptionally good. And you won't become that if you are not focused and not working on your 'passion'. And even if you are, it's likely you may never make it ;-)
So...where do you find the solace or...the material success that one strives for? Hmm...
In the end, (here's my favorite dialogue - mine ;-) - Life is about numbers. Or...hours. You need to put them in. Else...you may value-add lives of others - papa, mummy, uncle, aunty, wife, husband, bhaiya, bhena...which if it works for you is great. But...if the amount of time you need to put in is less than the threshold, then...forget it. Of course, only you should know what the threshold is and...one may never know!
The underlying thing remains - master your damn domain....keep working at it...don't get carried-away...keep slogging...keep practicing and then maybe...you will churn out some good work. Likely it may not get the required 'release', but...you would perhaps justify your potential, at least do something good that would satisfy you.
Though yes, within the rules of the world, you could still be a flunky. You may not be able to buy a car - you may have to stick to your 8-yr old Pulsar. Yeah...that's one for me ;-)
[ Underdogs have it tough ]
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