Taking a ‘direct’ route to acting

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Bollywood’s aspiring actors want to put their best face forward. Instead of fumbling with dialogues, being wary of the camera and unable to understand the technicalities of filmmaking, B-town aspiring actors are donning the hat of assistant directors to prepare themselves before they face the camera.

Many actors like Emraan Hashmi, Hrithik Roshan, Arjun Kapoor, Siddharth, Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor have first worked as assistant directors before turning actors.
Siddharth Malhotra, who will be seen in Student Of The Year, has been assisting Karan Johar for a few years. Joining the bandwagon Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan, Aamir Khan’s son Junaid and David Dhawan’s son Varun and Govinda’s daughter Narmada are already working as ADs.
Actor Aanaahad who won an award for Best Actor at Salento International Film Festival, 2009, also began his stint in Bollywood as an assistant director. And that came very handy during his first film Lahore as an actor.
“Assistant direction prepares newcomers for acting. The highly competitive industry doesn’t give second chances to anyone. Actors have to be well prepared before coming in front of the camera,” says Aanaand, who is presently busy with two film projects.
Another assistant director turned actor Sumit Mathur agrees with Aanaahad. After assisting for films like Soch Lo he will be acting in an upcoming film. “Assisting a director has helped me understand the nuances of filmmaking. If an actor is aware of technical aspects like how frames, lights, movements and cameras work, it becomes easier to get his act right,” says Sumit.
Film critic Joginder Tuteja says that assisting directors helps newcomers come out of their comfort zones and understand the industry better. “Though assisting a director cannot teach anyone acting, it surely helps them learn from senior actors,” he adds.
Director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan gets many requests from aspiring actors to assist him in his projects. “Aspiring actors have taken different routes to reaching out for fame. Acting courses, theatre and modelling are popular routes. And now assisting a director is a hot favourite trend among newcomers in Bollywood,” adds Sanjay.