Acting Wisdom: 11 Industry Laws To Be A Good Actor

How Can You Be A Good Actor And Enter Film | TV Industry 

"It is the ingredient I would look for in a prospective star. One need not have a conventionally good-looking face, but it has to have character. A face you would turn to look at a second time, one that doesn't get lost in the crowd! A classic case is Shah Rukh Khan, who does not conform to conventional good looks. Yet, his intensity and character stood out even when he was a television artiste"~Karan Johar (Producer Director Bollywood): The 10 commandments of acting

The Laws

I. You Shall Not Compromise

Too many actors accept and settle for being good when they have the potential to be great.

II. You Shall Not Lose Track of the Big Picture

Actors tend to fixate on short-term details, like finding a good agent and getting the perfect headshot. That’s fine, but the career path you choose will be determined by your long-term goals
.

III. You Shall Learn How to Network

Knowing how to meet and interact with industry professionals is an essential skill.

IV. You Shall Be Realistic

When you’re just starting out and you don’t have many credits of roles in films, TV serials or commercial ads , don’t  dream and ask  for the lead roles. There’s nothing wrong with aiming high, but you can’t lose yourself in the clouds.

V. You Shall Learn to Shut Up

Actors spend way too much time talking about themselves and expressing their opinion on others  without being asked. Try keeping quiet every now and then, especially when you’re talking to people in the industry. Be a good listener. Who knows? You might actually learn something.

VI. You Shall Question the Source

Don’t believe everything you hear. You know the actor who met in the audition room who’s half as talented as you but claims he got the role with Deepika Padukone in a feature film.  Or a pseudo-producer / director who offers you a role with security money. They are lying.

VII. You Shall Learn to Say No

You don’t have to jump on every opportunity that comes your way. Ask this question to yourself “will it be good for my future or present?”.

VIII. You Shall Take Chances

You took a huge risk when you decided to become an actor. So why not keep that daredevil spirit alive as you pursue your career?

IX. You Shall Be Mentally Strong And Healthy

Accept Rejections. They aren't personal.  Perhaps they wanted just another person. Your ego doesn’t control your life. Others do not have the power to crush your dreams. Only you can do that.

X. You Shall Wait

Never give up come what may. Success for an actor is a long struggle. Be patient. Make arrangements for a long journey.

XI. You Shall Have Financial Resources

It's a long uneven road with pot holes of financial instability on the way. You must have reasonable finances to keep you going
Based on source

The Expert Opinion On An Actor And A Character

Excellence in acting: The actor and Character 

This post has a bit higher level, a psychological platform and is for those who want to achieve a true excellence in the acting craft. If you have any questions, please Email me~Author

1. Unlike a common person, you’re always trying to move yourself to some level—otherwise, why would you choose acting? Why would you choose to spend your days transforming into other lives (playing different characters)? 

2. There must be something about yourself that you’re not quite comfortable with. A weird life goal? Some absurd dream? Lack of money in achieving your goal? Love?

3. You must empty yourself. Turn yourself into a blank, a clean slate. Allowing yourself to escape will connect you with that troubled character you have created from the script. Perhaps, entering into another life gives you some hidden pleasure.

4. Acting is being one step away from an addiction of some kind. Like drug addiction, alcohol, sex or work.

5. As actors, we all battle with our own evil self inside and we all use our own way of whatever it is to numb the pain of not being a normal human being in some way. 

6. What happens is the audience expects a character’s set behavioral pattern (based on their life experiences) as the story moves rather than a "change" to show them who this character is. The question is should an actor show what an audience expects or an opposite and weird? In my opinion, "both" studying the script deeply. Starting from expected turning into unexpected may hold the audience with their jaw dropped and terrified. The question of “what unexpected will I do in such a situation?” probably can be a  creative answer. 

7. Imagine someone is asking you one after another question, and you answer them in the voice of the character.  As you speak, you are creating the scene, a story and also,  connecting with the character, developing and playing with character’s mannerisms, his/her voice, physicality. Over time, the character emerges. 

8. To play the character, you have to fall in love with them. You have to sympathize, have a complete understanding and a deep concern for their personal life-story in the script. 

9. Again all this is a game of your imagination, the power of dreaming. After all, it's you as an actor who is creating the character.

10. The options once created could be discussed with the director.

11.  Final Opinion

To be a good actor, you have to be very smart. But to be a great actor, you also have to have a streak of, 'I'm an idiot, a complete lunatic'.
The journey as an actor is always fractured, never smooth. There are interim periods, experiencing a lull in work. There will be times when you could be “totally broke,” sitting at home, and thinking I’m never, ever going to make it as an actor. But regular training, preparedness, strong determination and a readiness of “come what may” attitude will get you to where you wanted to be. To be in demand with Hollywood or Bollywood’s top filmmakers. 
Inspired by 

Acting Coach

Wanna Be Bollywood Actor? Shah Rukh Khan's 15 Years Of Fight

Struggling actors and the fight of King Khan

Want To Be An Actor? Are You Ready For a Prolonged Struggle Like SRK?

Shah Rukh Khan known as SRK, is an Indian film actor, producer and television personality. Referred to in the media as the "Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" or "King Khan", he has appeared in more than 100 Bollywood films and earned numerous accolades, including 14 Filmfare Awards. Khan has a significant following in whole of Asia and the Indian diaspora worldwide. In terms of audience size and income, he has been described as one of the most successful film stars in the world. Source

A boy from a middle-class family whose parents did not have enough money to take him to the movies has become “King Khan”. Shah Rukh khan, who has seen endless struggles in his life – he has slept on streets, struggled to support himself and his sister at a very young age. He even lost his parents very early which led to his sister seeking mental health support. Between all the chaos and challenges, he kept pushing himself, and today he stands tall as the ‘Badshah of Bollywood’. Certainly, those years weren’t easy for him. Success doesn’t come easy, what made him a star was his acceptance of failure and the urge to improve. (Manohar, 2012)

 From His Early Days

He not only saw failure but poverty too, especially after his parents’ demise. He vocally admits that he took on less creative work to overcome poverty. Some of the films which he accepted were rejected by big stars, but he took them on to avoid unemployment. Shah Rukh strongly believes that failure is a part of life, he believes that the true road to success is not just the desire for success but fear of failure and that if you don’t enjoy and be scared of your failure you will never succeed.
According to him, one needs to pass through some stages of failure in order to succeed. We might whimper about a successful superstar and his genuine tussle with failure. We believe that only a person who has been through adversity has all the rights to voice it out.

He believes it’s not the absence of failure that makes one successful, but it’s one response to it,  (AIMA speech, 2014).

Which is actually so real for e.g. If we keep on thinking that nothing can be done, or ask why did it happen to me? Then surely we are falling into the trap of failure, while on the other hand if we learn from our failure, and accept it as a part of life and move on, we become strong individuals. We chase success and we want to live successful lives.

His Career

Khan began his career with appearances in the several television series in the late 1980s. Then joined Bollywood. His first hit was  Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), after a struggle period of 15 years. Source

Here is what Shah Rukh Khan told to Avijit Ghosh of Times Of India long back in an interview

Question by Avijit Ghosh: 
Real stardom takes about 10 years to achieve?


Answer:
"Minimum! 
Yeh mujhe Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) ne bataya tha. "Aatth (8) saal tak tum Hindustan mein star nahi ban sakte. Ab to thoda jaldi ho jata hai, kyunki reach zyada ho gayi hai'. He had further told me- "Shah Rukh, desh ko aath saal lagte hain tumko jaanne mein. 
Let me elaborate on a small incident. I had gone to meet a friend in south Delhi. He wasn't there. I wrote a small note saying, I came, and gave it to the watchman.  The watchman looked at me and said, 
'have you written your name on it?' 
I looked at him and said, 'yes'. 
Then he said, 'have you written the address?' . 
I said, ji. 
He said, 'also write what is it that you do'. 
And I stood there and thought there is still one man, a security guard in a posh Delhi locality, who does not know me. So I still have to work. It's been 20 years but there's still one man in this country who doesn't know me. So I need to work harder". Source

How To Get Auditions Sitting At Home | Free Resources

Audition notices in India

As A Beginner Or Working Actor Do You These Facts On Auditions?

You have a good portfolio with a headshot, or something close. You have painfully prepared and filmed a monolog, or maybe two and filmed a “video introduction” as well, just to be safe. You know what type of character you play best, but you need a chance to perform in a real production.
One of the staggering facts of the acting business, especially for beginners, is that roles don’t come to actors; actors must go to roles. The only way to land a role is to audition, and to audition, actors have to find the opportunities. Some actors have artist coordinators (So called, casting directors) who do the bulk of the search for them but even represented actors can pursue auditions for themselves.
How does an aspiring actor find the role that makes them a star? Where are new auditions posted? We all have to start somewhere. Many do not know that many of auditions are posted online every day. Some require a fee to gain access, but plenty are free to submit, you just have to know where to look.

One strong suggestion-Search for roles by physical attributes, age, character, location etc before you apply or barge in an open audition

Basic Requirement

Knowledge of computer and web-search

Auditions information sitting at home

Please note a sign up (free), may be required at these websites with a creation of your profile page


Visit:

http://www.auditionsindia.com/Auditions_for_Actor-Actress.aspx

http://www.bollywoodhunts.com/JobDisplay.aspx

https://www.acmodasi.in/auditions/in_mumbai/

http://bombaycasting.com/

http://www.bollywoodentry.com/bollywoodaudition.php

http://www.indeed.co.in/Actor-jobs-in-Mumbai,-Maharashtra

http://flixcasting.com/subscription-plans/
(There is a free  'silver' category for getting auditions. Register free)

http://www.imapictures.com/casting_jobs_opportunities.php

http://talentrack.in/

http://www.cntraveller.in/story/a-bollywood-aspirants-guide-to-mumbai/#s-custday-1-friday

Search engines for auditions

Zapmeta

http://www.webcrawler.com/    Write in search bar "movie parts auditions India"

The Single Factor To Win Auditions And Grab A Role

Showing anger with clenched teeth

The Casting Director And An Actor's Dilemma In Auditions

• Everyone on this earth is a deviate and has a distinct  personality. An actor has to play a character, but everything is ultimately filtered through actor's body and mind.
• From an audition point of view, the process can take as little as few hours or as long as for days. The casting director's objective is to find a right actor to fit into a role, he/she has visualized. You got your lines and analyzed it, then studied the character, set the objectives of each of your lines, recreated the character's  profile from your sense memory, have put yourself into character- his physical attributes, voice, rhythm, mannerism etc... 
• But you are not alone. There are may be 30 or more who got an audition call for the same role and if all of you think on the same lines and prepared for the audition in a similar fashion, changing your psyche and other attributes as per the character, then why a casting director should call 20 or 40 aspirants and select one out of so many? 
• He/she call may be one or two and finalize?
• Therefore what is hidden? When you do not know what is in a casting director's mind, what can you do?

The Secret Of Being Unique

In an audition when everybody is speaking the same lines forcing themselves as a "character', trying to perform in the same way, it becomes a monotonous exploration for a casting director. What a casting director may be looking is a character conceived by him or the story writer "with a difference" or "with sparkle".

So what you do?

• Firstly, find out what attributes of you match with that of a character and what do not (congruent and non  congruent with the character)
• Secondly, push  those traits of you not matching with the character into background (remove)
• Thirdly, develop matching attributes with varied emotions or attitudes

Let me explain the above with an example:

I got 10 lines of an angry man reacting to an abuse. I know the character has to be a bit loud and the rhythm of speech has to be faster with exaggerated facial responses. Now my voice is thin, rhythm slow but I'm good at expressions. I would not be silly to change my voice tone nor rhythm. Will focus on developing my expressions further, will speak with my low voice slowly, may be with hissing through clenched teeth.

Don’t be afraid of your instincts. If you’re trying to please everyone, you can easily lose what is special about you and end up pleasing no one. Always stay within the parameters of what’s organically honest for the role, the scene, and the world you’re portraying, but if a choice strikes you as particularly funny or poignant, don’t be afraid of it!

Obviously, those choices won’t always be on the mark for what “they” want, but you aren't a mind reader and we don’t expect you to be! Casting directors simply want you to come in with a well-defined, intelligent performance. If you’re right for the role, then the director will guide you from there.
In this way, in your career, perhaps you may lose some roles but it should not discourage you. The same guy "YOU" will get you roles that for sure will make your career
This is truer for Bollywood auditions
(However, this does not mean that you should stop imagining about "IF" I'm that person or you should forget about your own life experiences or your "observations" and preparing for an audition.  All I'm saying is to be in a character maintaining your individuality)

Join Us To Learn How To Win Auditions

6 Steps On How To Kiss In A Scene And Be A Romantic Actor

A kiss in Bollywood film

I love romance scenes and wanna be a romantic actor
Okay. Then read below and be one


Having your first kiss is awkward enough, but having your first kiss with a whole crew standing around you is even more uncomfortable. While acting for the camera, a romantic scene may have re-takes of a shot. For some actors, this experience is too scary! Some refuse to kiss which probably may affect their opportunities in films with similar scenes.

Newbie Kriti Kharbanda, who is making her Bollywood debut with horror film “Raaz Reboot,” says kissing on-screen was a tough task for her.

However, any actor who wants to perform regularly and is career conscious will probably fall into a kissing role sooner or later


My suggestion does not mark boundaries for the reason that you do not want to limit yourself and mess up your dream of stardom. Just accept and learn how to!

Requirements

1. As I mentioned above,becoming a romantic actor requires good looks.
2. Becoming a romantic actor is not going to be easy. It is, in fact, more difficult than becoming a regular actor. 
3. A romantic actor must have a charm and appeal that causes women to swoon every time he appears on stage or screen. In short: a romantic actor must be good looking. There are exceptions, of course, but they are rare. 
4. To become a romantic actor it is important to realize that looks are going to be as important as talent.
5. Romantic characters are usually difficult to act out because the scenes that are shot in these films require guts and boldness, especially for an actress. Intimate scenes with unknown men have always been a troubled affair for actresses since long. Therefore, learn to be very close to your co-stars
6. What would you say the most common and essential traits are among romance heroes and heroines?
7. Develop acting technique to portray Faithfulness, Honor, Strength,  Strong Creative Emotions and an ability to exhibit Instant sexual urge and orgasms. 

6 Steps on how to kiss in a scene

1. Don't have a bad breath.
2. Kiss on upper or lower lip missing mouth slightly.
3. Take it as a mechanical task with no romantic implications (If uncomfortable, fake romantic emotions)
4. Understand the type of kiss. The script offers clues, but in the end, this is up to the director. It should be clear whether you are acting out a romantic kiss, a lustful embrace, a quick welcome home kiss, or some other approach. Depending on the camera setup, you may not even be required to make lip contact with the other actor.
5. If you're acting out a passionate kiss, you can close your eyes right before it happens. This looks romantic, but may also help you imagine the scene
6. Imagine someone else. If you're having trouble making the kiss look believable, imagine that you're kissing someone you want to kiss

 Join us to learn

Things You'll Need

1. A good coordinator, especially the one who deals primarily with Bollywood films/ Feature films by independent producers. Maybe a second coordinator who deals with recommending actors for serials and commercials
2. Physical coach:. Join a gym and work on your body and face
3. Acting coach:: Who should be able to coach you not only on how to be a good actor/ actress, teach you on how to be a romantic actor and also will coach you on mannerism, how to deal with people, language, attitude etc. Ask the coach what types of romantic roles he/she  thinks you are suitable. Listen to coach's advice and act.
4. Work on your image. Ask female friends what they think of your style. How would they describe you? Are you the good-looking geek? The rugged hunk? Romantic actors tend to be typecast. Work out which stereotype you most resemble and work towards achieving this image fully.
5. Research romantic actors such as Shah Rukh Khan, Amir Khan or Anushka Sharma. Find out how they managed themselves. Try to learn from their life stories. Network with people involved in producing romantic comedies.
6. Get and go to auditions. You are never going to become a romantic actor if nobody knows who you are. Go for any role going. Don't be too selective. Heartthrobs start out in the most unlikely of places. It is more important that you get on screen if you want to become a romantic actor. 
7. Then have patience and wait for a plum role to come along.

Updated Post

Still Struggling? Kick Out Your 7 Bad Habits Before New Year

Bad habits: New Year resolution of  TV star Sneha Wagh and Gaurav S. Bajaj

Actors! Get Rid Of These 7 Bad Habits Before New Year If You Want Success 

I sympathize with you and myself. It's not a sin to have a bad habit. Everybody has but quietly can start destroying your career and happiness. So, let's kick them out

Do You have These Bad Habits?

1. Dominating a conversation. Everyone wants to be heard but some just go on speaking
2. Overthinking and brooding on any subject. Most of the times it makes you sad, drags you and wastes time.
3. Over-attachment with people. Rule No. 1-Focus on yourself
4. The habit of delaying (procrastination). You will never do it if you don’t do it now
5. Lying and cheating yourself because you dare not face the truth
6. Finding excuses for yourself and other people
7. Spending too much time on social media like FaceBook

4 Steps on How to Break a Bad Habit

1 Be aware. Consciously focusing on everything, even small you do and identify THAT bad habit

2 Write down -This is my bad habit I WILL through it out before the new year

3. Substitute it with a good habit. For example, instead of biting nail or smoking , try chewing gum or some other mouth freshener.

4. Finally, I strongly recommend Meditation, self-hypnotism and auto-suggestion techniques. This definitely helps. Learn from us

A few of our TV Serial actors talk about their habits which they want to get rid off and what does the New Year mean to them.





Sneha Wagh-I wants to give up taking people at face value and sweets. New Year means fresh perspective on your priorities and goals and finding happiness.

Piyush Sahdev-I wants to give up nail biting and also want to learn to forgive easily and also want to try to sleep early. A new year means a new beginning for me, new hopes and aspirations. I also plan on buying assets as the new year begins so the new year is big for me.

Gaurav S. Bajaj- I will not give up but I'll reduce the no. of cups of tea in a day. I drink 5-7 cups of tea in a day usually. Late night eating habit. When I watch films at home. I grab so much unwanted stuff from the fridge and hog like a dog ice creams, Namkeens, and chips etc.

Shivin Narang - I would like to take a control on fattening food and second habit is I would more focus on my fitness.  New Year arrival means new chapter for me

Rishina Kandhari - Life is a book and every year is a new chapter full new challenges and opportunities and I would like to score my 100% in it. Two things I would like to change will be A-under estimating my abilities towards myself andB- spending money like a spendthrift.  I will save as much as I can.

Gunjan Utreja - I want to sleep early. It's been long I have not slept before 4 am. And that's a bad habit  because  I wake up early as well.  I want to give up my fetish for sweets. I cannot resist chocolates and Gulab jamun. Change of date doesn't mean anything to me. It's just another milestone and gives you an opportunity to measure the distance you have come in your life. I believe life is to be lived not measured.

Shashank Vyas -Pray  to God and mom on 1st of January that makes me a better person and asks for good health.
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