[Reader-list] Second Posting - INSIDE THE SOAP FACTORY by INDU VERMA

[Indu Verma]

INSIDE THE SOAP FACTORY
  Chapter-1: An Actor in search of a Character
   
  The Lost Character:
   
  Hey, guys can I please get my own space, I need to work on my character
   
  Ssh ssh, silence man, let him concentrate
   
  Huh, what's there to concentrate, just be spontaneous yaar, just live the moment
   
  Ae moment kya karna hai, bina fumble kiye line bol de, bas khatam
   
  TAKING...  ROLL CAMERA...   ROLLING ....   ACTION
   
  Samandar ki aseem gehraiyon tak, aasmaan ki vishal oonchaiyon tak, jungle ki athah tanhaiyon tak meri pratispardha ki agnimaya jwala jalti rahegi. Mein aaj kasammmm ...  
   
  CUT CUT CUT 
   
  Aray hindi mein bol yaar, what kind of lines are these. Whoz gonna understand this novel.
   
  Sir, this is what we have in the script
   
  Rubbish, call the writer and ask him to re-write,now
   
  Come on guys,lets not waste time, lets first take the reaction shot of the co-actor
   
  But sir what am I reacting to, I mean unless I know his lines how will I give the expression
   
  Aray yaar, something to the effect that you have been successful in provoking your son. Rest I'll keep giving instructions
   
  OK, LETS TAKE, SILENCE
   
  ROLL CAMERA, ROLLING, ACTION
   
  ... whatever gehraiyon, oonchaiyon tak meri whatever fire jalti rahegi.
   
  YA GOOD, HOLD THAT EXPRESSION... ZOOM.. 
   
  NOW SLOW ZOOM, RUSSIAN FRAME , NICE...  CUT IT
   
   
  An Actor can not really search for a character in television, because most of the times he is basically bound by the limitations of working under the channel's instructions, which are mostly based on maintaining the gloss as per the television standards. The word out here is 'The Look'. Actors auditioning are closely scrutinized on the look rather than the acting abilities.
   
  Here is an incident where I was to play a mother whose son has been kidnapped. Post kidnapping, the scenes followed my look all dressed in heavy silk sarees, lipstick oozing out of the lip line and not one strand of hair falling out of place. Not to be missed was the matching bindi and heavy jewelery. All that was still bearable to the extent, that I at least had a power packed scene to enact where I am all shattered and howling on top of my voice.
   
  But, but, but hold on...
   
  ACTION... was the call
   
  I howled and genuinely cried(minus the glycerin), and the director said..
   
  CUT IT
   
  I thought there was some technical fault as I was going as per the script and probably the right emotion.
   
  To my surprise, the Director takes me to a side and explains,
  Here is what he had to say...
   
  “Listen Indu, we know you are a good actor (no exaggeration), you were good, but remember one basic thing, not only for now but in future also, never distort your face while crying, you should look beautiful while crying also.” 
   
  I was shattered. Forget the particular character I was playing, according to me even if you generalize, no mother would check on her beauty and appearance while howling when actually her child is kidnapped. 
   
  How does an Actor prepare? 
   
  ....when he/she doesn't have a script to work on, a co-actor to rehearse with and a Director to discuss with.
   
  No jokes, but I myself have been cast over the phone, have actually gone to the shoots just after a brief discussion of the shoot dates, remuneration and at the most costume details(in case the decision is made on the eleventh hour, I have to carry my personal clothes). 
   
  “BUT....LISTEN.....HELLO...MY ROLE? HELLO.. HELLO”
   
  PAUSE
   
  “WESTERN/INDIAN LOOK, POSITIVE/NEGATIVE SHADE CARRY THREE SAREES AND A PAIR OF JEANS”
   
  Genuine Involvement:
   
  But there is another side to the coin. There is a hope against hope that the trend will change. Because there were shows where I had complete freedom to actually work on the character, discuss the scene and the shot with the Director and rehearse with the Co-actor. 
   
  I have had rare opportunities to work on shows like Siddhant (Star One), Agnipath (DD), Darna Mana Hai (Star One), ........ where I did get a window to work on my 'character' and not just the 'look'.
  I knew before hand, the story, journey of my character and relationship with other characters in the plot.
   
  I consider such shows a novelty. However, even such shows eventually succumb to the pressures of TRP and Channel instructions. They too become mundane, leaving little scope for acting. But till the time that happens, you do get to work on the character. 
   
  So, how does one work on a character?
   
  Well, to take an example: There is a scene in Aawaz (Zee), where I am pleading to a police officer in a hospital for the release of my husband, who is admitted in an ICU and is charged with a conspiracy against the state. It is a desperate scenario for a wife and so I  as an actor, was supposed to cry and plead with conviction in order to justify my character's desperation. 
   
  This scene with an abrupt beginning, forced me to look into my personal life and search for a right motivation which could be used to bring inside the required emotion for my character.
   
  The word 'motivation' is the key here. An actor is also a human being. He can not cry or emote without any reason. To create that imaginary reason, he requires a motivation. Thus, I had to imagine various real life tragedies in order to motivate myself to cry with desperation and match the mental state of the character.
   
  In other words, I replaced the character's motivation with that of my own. Nothing Personal, just Business! Actors are selfish beings, they use their own emotions and that of others to get the shot right. So next time you are talking to an actor, be careful, he might be closely observing your emotions and recording them for future use! In fact mirrors are an actor's best friend as they give  him/her an audience to perform, a director to critically observe and a co-actor to rehearse with. 
   
  Acting is a combination of imagination and memory. 
   
  But there is yet another aspect to this combination. “JUST BE SPONTANEOUS YAAR”. Believe me I've given my best shot where I was completely spontaneous. A scene from 'Agnipath' with an amazing co-actor Mr.Kiran Kumar, was executed to perfection with a rocking on-screen chemistry between the two of us. The best support to that scene was our Director Mr.Raman Kumar, who gave us complete freedom to be on our own.
   
  The scene represented a situation where an illegitimate Child (my character) meets her Father (Kiran Kumar's character) for the first time in her life. It was a highly emotional sequence for both the actors and thankfully we had well written lines which helped us to be spontaneous.
   
   
  The Real Actors(and hats off to them):
   
  Director- You know swimming?
   
  Me- yes
   
  Co-actor- No
   
  PAUSE
   
  Director- Ok, Indu is running for her life and you(co-actor) are running behind her as you have been sent by your boss to kill her.  She slips into the pool and tries hard to swim across to save her life. You also jump behind her and push her inside water so that she drowns. 
   
  Co-actor- But sir, mujhe swimming nahin aati..
   
  Director- Relax man, tumhare jump karne tak ka shot hai, then we'll cut it na. Anyways, the pool is six feet deep and you are six feet tall. We will take your close shots in the shallow waters. 
   
  TAKING.. START SOUND.. ROLL CAMERA.. ROLLING. ACTION
   
  Me- (running hard)Bachao, please help, koi hai( I slip into the pool) bachao, help!
   
  Co-actor jumps behind me and pushes me inside the water so that I drown, and believe me he did the scene with complete conviction. A guy with a huge built was pushing my head so hard that i was actually drowning. He almost killed me when to my rescue the Assistant Director came shouting.. CUT IT.. 
   
  Me-(came out screaming)Are you demented? We are acting boss, why did you use so much of force?
   
  Co-actor- Aray, I myself was drowning and I wanted to do it right in one take so that i don't have to jump again.
   
  (Okay, he had the right motivation, but what happened to you sir? Why didn't you cut it?)
   
  Director- I thought the scene was pretty natural so i wanted to go on to see how far can we go on in a single take.
   
  Me- Well, it has to be natural as he was actually killing me and i was actually crying for help. 
   
  Director- Anyways now its over, now we'll take all close shots where you guys can stand in shallow water.
   
  TAKING.. START SOUND.. ROLL CAMERA.. ROLLING. ACTION
   
  Me- Help, bachao, bachao..... cut it!
   
  Director- What happened?
   
  Me- (To the Co-Actor)Now you are not drowning, why are you putting so much force? Please understand, we are acting. Now we are standing in shallow water on our knees and whatever force you use is coming on my neck as I can't penetrate through the bottom of the pool. I respect your conviction but this is not the last shot of our lives.
   
  Co-actor- I'm sorry. 
   
  I swear I gave another five shots after that, but my neck was always subjected to a similar torture. 
   
  Only relief I had was the Director's call.......
   
   PACK UP !

				
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