Shekhar Kapur gives tips to budding actors

Jul 2, 2010 IANS

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who is often being asked by aspiring actors what it takes to be a good actor, says that acting requires discipline and years of introspection.

"It takes years of discipline to create mastery over your body and voice. It takes years of introspection and hard work to learn how to use the inherent emotions in you, to be able to transfer them seamlessly to your mind and emotion and from there seamlessly to your body and voice," Shekhar wrote on his blog shekharkapur.com.

"The discipline and 'riyaz' (practice) of an actor is no less than that of a classical dancer," he added.

Shekhar, who has directed movies like "Bandit Queen", "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" says that today's actors are driven by physical appearance and believe in making rounds of the page three circuit.

"You go to the Gym, get great pictures taken, discover your best angles, and go to parties to network. Get a six pack or a great body and go to photographers that know how to exploit those assets and then later photo shop them into perfection," he wrote.

"Being attractive on the outside may be important, but the 'art' of acting is to be attractive on the 'inside'," he added.