With names of students like Rajnikanth and Mohammad Rafi, this batch of acting students is bound to get noticed in the film and theatre industry. The students of the first batch of ‘Intro to Acting for Film, Television and Theatre (IAFTT)' a certificate course offered by the International School of Film and Media (ISFM) brimmed with confidence, hope and ready to face the challenges of the theatre and film industry at their graduation ceremony.
Veteran actor G. Rajendra Prasad was present to give away the certificates. But it was the stories of his initial struggling days and anecdotes on acting skills that the students most looked forward to. True to his trademark comic style he encouraged the students and advised them that an acting course is not sufficient but a good actor has to put into practice what he has learnt in the classroom to make a mark in the industry. “Acting is purely practical and you are on your own as a performer. Apply what you have learnt in the classroom and remember that improvisation is the only way for an actor,” advised the actor warning the students that they have to be prepared for a lot of hard work and struggle. “If you think I have been an inspiration to you, then come back and thank me only when you have become something,” he added.
As a part of the course, the students were introduced to fundamentals of acting and filmmaking, voice training, dance and fitness, characterisation and scene analysis. One of the students, Ch. Rohit Kumar explained that the course gave them the confidence to face the camera and a lot of practical insight into the world of acting. “We all have part time jobs and we are aware that we have to sustain ourselves, convince our parents and pursue our acting goals,” he explained. Most of the students are in the mid and late 20s and they are ready for any kind of acting assignments whether films, serials or theatre. In fact, some of the students have already been part of theatre group Samahaara run by Rathnasekhar Reddy who is also part of the faculty.
Mahammad Althaf , one of the faculty members is confident of their acting skills but says the trick lies in how they are able to sell themselves. “The students are ambitious and talented. They just need to pick the right character roles and keep going for auditions. Half of their struggle is reduced as the film school will open a lot of doors for them,” he added.
In fact, the aspiring actors have started auditioning for roles in films and serials and two of the students have bagged roles in films. “Even though the course is over, we will help them out with auditions and put up the details on our website so that the other production houses can approach them with roles,” promised Pratima Jaidev, Vocational Program Coordination, ISFM.
