Anupam Kher to institute acting awards in Australia

Mumbai, Feb 10 (IANS) Anupam Kher has just completed a weeklong visit to Australia, the apparent purpose of which was to stage his travelling play 'Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai'. And he is camping in Sydney at the moment.

But behind the scene, his company has inked several pacts with the Australian government, which includes the opening of yet another branch of his acting school 'Actor Prepares', this time at the famous Fox Studios in Sydney.

Speaking from Sydney, Anupam said, 'We are opening one more branch of my school here in Sydney. It feels good because my dream was to take my skills outside our country.'

In addition to the acting school, Anupam has another major plan for Sydney. 'I'm starting a global acting awards. It will be called Thespis, named after the world's first actor from Greece (hence the term 'thespian'). And it will not be a Bollywood award. It will honour debut-actors from all over the world for their skills,' he said.

'So any debut performance from any part of the world will be eligible for the award. The Thespis will be like the Oscar. When the award is announced, the emcee will say, 'And the Thespis goes to...' The first Thespis awards ceremony will be held in Sydney at the end of this year and then the awards will travel to other parts of the world every year,' Anupam explained.

Anupam has big dreams for Australia. 'We're going in for major tie-ups in Australia. Apart my first awards function, I'll also be the first ambassador for the Indian International Film Festival. My company will also collaborate with Australia on various movie productions,' he said.

But it's the global acting awards that Anupam is most excited about. 'After my acting schools, I wanted to institute global awards that honour new acting talent. Because once you produce worthy acting talent from a school, you need to recognise and honour them so that they can grow.'