Anupam Kher: Acting needs to be learned, practised

Highlights

• Acting might come naturally to many, but it is an art that needs to be "learnt" and "practised", says veteran actor Anupam Kher, whose acting academy has been included in a documentary series about incredible schools around the world.
• He argues that expressing emotions in front of the public needs work, which is something acting schools teach.
• "Practice makes an actor excel. It is like cycling and motor driving. It is an art, which can be learnt and practised," Anupam said.
• "You express all emotions in your daily life. An actor, who can act out these emotions for the public, needs to practise that," he added.
• Anupam runs an acting school, Actor Prepares and teaches acting as a lifestyle.
• "Our tag line says, 'We bring out the actor in you'. In day-to-day life, our brain sends lots of signals. In acting, there are no signals. You have to believe in what you are trying to portray," he said.
• "Our school not only makes you an actor, it makes you understand who you actually are as well... it gives you discipline and punctuality. It also teaches you a way of life," he added.
• Actor Prepares has been selected to feature in a documentary series about incredible schools around the world by a Montreal-based production company Eureka Productions.
• The series titled "Schools Like No Others" will broadcast on TV5 in Canada next year.
• "The school, which I started eight years ago, for that to be recognised is not only a great honour for me individually but also a great honour to the country...To achieve this in a short period of eight years is a great feeling," Anupam said.
• The actor is excited that his school has been discovered on its own.
• "It was not like we sent any entry. They have discovered us on their own. They got in touch with us a few months back; at that time I had no idea who they were," he said.
• A versatile actor, Anupam has been seen in a mix of art-house and commercial films like Saraansh, Daddy, Karma, Darr, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara in Bollywood.
• He has been a part of crossover projects like Bend It Like Beckham and Bride And Prejudice.
• Recently, he was seen in Hollywood film Silver Linings Playbook, which stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.
• The actor also featured in television thriller series, 24, the desi version of American show by the same name.
• He firmly believes that series like 24 will spark off a new tradition of Indian modifications of international fiction shows.
• "Somebody has to take a risk and start that tradition. Others follow it. I am sure after 24, a lot of foreign fiction series will be made in India," he said.
• The actor has many films in his kitty such as David Dhawan's Mein Tera Hero, Punit Malhotra's Gori Tere Pyaar Mein and Yash Raj Films' Daawat-E-Ishq, which stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Parineeti Chopra.