MUMBAI: Filmmaker and founder of Whistling Woods International Subhash Ghai has restructured the acting course at the institute and designed it into a two year course called the Actor’s Studio.
Actors’ Studio will develop acting skills of students and groom them for acting on screen.
Moreover, Ghai will also be leaving on a five city tour across India to hunt for fresh talent. From 26 June – 1 July, Ghai will visit cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. The idea is to scout for deserving students aspiring to make a career in the film and television industry.
The new curriculum will involve a foundation course where aspiring actors will undergo training in all aspects of filmmaking, for the first six months. The next 12 months will include a specialized course in the art and technique of acting and acting workshops and the concluding six months will include acting for screen (with cameras) and grooming of the actors. After graduation, students can enroll for advanced training in the third year wherein under the guidance of experts they will undergo further training for Screen Acting.
Ghai says, "Actor’s Studio is a unique model, which is being tried for the first time in India. With this I wanted to stress the importance of education in cinema. I feel bad when ignorant youngsters with just good looks make a beeline to the producers’ offices with their still photographs thinking they can become actors. This is nothing but ignorance."
Incidentally, Ghai came to Mumbai with dreams of becoming an actor! However, he has no regrets that he did not make it big as an actor because he made a lot of actors out of people. "They made a star out of me. This is a firsthand experience for me. I want to counsel the youngsters aiming for a career in the entertainment industry and give them proper directions," he said.
Mukta Arts, promoters of WWIL, will provide opportunities to students to prove their talent in various projects, which will be funded by the production company. By the end of 2010, Mukta Arts plans to make at least eight to ten projects every year, which will include films, telefilms and TV serials scripted, directed, produced and featuring students from the institute.
The projects will be handled by Mukta Arts’ new division called Talent Management Company. The fee for the two year course will be around Rs 14 lakhs. Scholarships will also be offered to some meritorious and deserving students who are unable to pay the fees.
The last date for application for the Actors Studio is 24 June, 2009.
