Career In Acting

Career Course ::: Acting Course ::: Where to study

Various courses in Acting are available at schools and institutes of Acting in many parts of the country

Though the majority of Acting schools are located in the metropolises and other big cities. The FTII offers a two-year Postgraduate Diploma course in Acting. There are twenty seats available for this course every year. Two seats in each course are reserved for foreign students / non-resident Indians. Seats are also reserved for ST/SC candidates as per the Government policy of aspects like improvisation, movements, memory, monologue, imagination, etc., are stressed upon in this course. Students are also exposed to the technicalities of sound, light, editing, etc.

Asha K. Chandra’s School of Acting in Mumbai offers a three-month Complete Film-Acting Training Course. The course includes acting therapies, workshops, direction, voice, speech, voice-culture and meditation. Moreover, students are also given training in video camera practicals and are also exposed to all aspects of film making. Batches are taken throughout the year and the course fee is Rs.35, 000.

Twenty students are enrolled for each term at the Actor Prepares School of acting in Mumbai. A select number of students are also put on a “Waiting list” once selections are completed. The modules at this institute include diction, speech, voice, sound recording, dubbing, stunts, dance, aesthetics and early morning yoga sessions. The course, run by noted theatre and film personality Anupam Kher, can be availed at a fee of Rs.1.20 lakh. Two scholarships are also awarded on a need-cum-merit basis. One gets awarded with an ‘Actor Prepares’ Diploma after the successful completion of the course.

A three-year comprehensive course in Dramatic Arts is offered by the NSD (National School of Drama) in New Delhi. The course focuses more on theatre, but also involves acting in front of the camera and has a module on film appreciation. The NSD plans to extend this course to a five-year integrated programme that includes two years of advanced graduation.

The Asian Academy of Film and Television in NOIDA (Uttar Pradesh) offers a one-year Diploma in Acting for Film and Television. In this course, students are trained in various departments of verbal and non-verbal communication. The course lays stress on developing the imagination and sensibility of the student. The course is designed to instill a keen sense of observation in the student as also to refine the way in which human behaviour is studied by the student. The course tries to break down the physical and emotional inhibitions of the student. A three-month programme in acting and Presentation is also offered by the institute.

The Imago Acting School run by Barry John in New Delhi offers a three-month Diploma course in Acting. The syllabus includes acting projects, voice and speech projects, physical activities and which has been designed and scheduled specially for working people and college students desirous of being involved in theatre or television in some minimal way. Prof. Roshan Taneja’s Bombay Actor’s Studios in Mumbai offers a three-month Certification programme in Acting. This institute is popular for its stress on method acting.

The selection procedures are very tough at the NSD and the FTII. However, it is fairly easy to get through into a private acting institute. Many well-known actors and directors have opened acting institutes of their own like Subbash Ghai’s Whistling Woods International, Padmini Kolhapure’s Acting School and Anupan Kher Acting School and Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares. It is necessary to get into an acting school to acquire the complete set of skills, knowledge and experience required to be an actor even if one is blessed with a lot of inherent talent. A course in acting makes one an expert in a variety of areas like creative ability, good imaginative faculty, good vocal projection, physical fitness and the ability to analyse, understand and deliver dramatic text. Competition is very fierce in this industry and course in acting makes one fit to survive and emerge triumphant in the industry.

A career in Acting is sure to bring in name and fame for the one who is in addition to the hefty sums of money that actors are paid for their work. India has the distinction of being the largest producer of film producers and financiers are pumping in large amount of money to make quality film, which have global competence—in term of technology and the quality of acting performance.

Recently, Price Waterhouse Coopers, in a report, has projected that by the year 2015, the global entertainment industry will touch US $1.8 trillion, Most of this investment is gravitating towards the Asian region and India has the potential to garner about US $200 billion out of it. The Indian film industry is currently worth US $1,256 million with 934 films produced in the year 2004. In the next five years, the industry is poised to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 18 percent. In simple terms, this means more film produced in the near future, throwing up opportunities for fresh faces.

The report also rates India as the third largest television market in the world. With over 350 channels available for viewers presently, the television industry is growing at the steady pace to. A large number of running, as well as new soap operas present opportunities for budding and aspiring actors to make their mark. An aspiring actor should never be shy of starting out one’s career on the small screen as this can give considerable leverage to make it to the big screen. The reigning king of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Knan started out on the small screen in the beginning of his career and rose to become the superstar later.

Apart from soap operas, one has the opportunity to showcase one’s talent on the many talent-hunt programmes conducted by television channels. These programmes selected candidates for new film and television projects.

There are no fixed salaries available for actors. One commands one’s salary by the virtue of one’s acting skills and one’s ability to strike the right chord with the audiences. Salaries are different at different production houses. For working on a small project, one may be paid Rs. 5,000 as a fee. As one establishes a brand name for oneself, one will be able to command higher amounts. For working in television soap operas, one will be paid in the range of lakhs while one will be paid in crores when one is well established in the film industry. One will be able to command a King’s ransom as fee when one attains celebrity status in the film industry.

Career In Acting