Posted:
Here are the excerpts of Sushan'st and Ankita's articles from the Gr8 Magazine exclusive section "Rulers of Indian Television". sorry if already posted
Sushant Singh Rajput
" I was one of the few scholarship students of the Delhi Engineering College, one of the all India toppers. In my 3rd semester I had joined Shaimak Davar's dance troupe. Shaimak had told me one day, 'You're not only one of my finest dancers but you have got some great expressions and so why don't you try for theatre?' So i joined Barry John theatre class in my 6th semester. Meanwhile i flunked atleast 15 times in my college and i thought before they throw me out i better leave.(laughs) I think it was the first time in the history of Delhi Engineering College someone dropped out to join Shaimak and Barry John. But the turning point was the Commonwealth Games in Australia where i performed with Aishwarya Rai, Shaimak mentioned that I should move to Mumbai if i wanted to make a career in the glamour world. I came to Mumbai and joined Nadira Babbar's theatre group. I also joined another choreographer - Ashley Lobo and also learned Martial Arts from Allan and Amin. I then went to Mohit Suri saying that I wanted to be an actor. He then told me to start assisting him on the pre-production of Raaz 2 and i became his third assistant Director. In my last play for Nadira Babbar, a production executive from Balaji saw me and liked my performance. He got in touch with me and asked me to come over for an audition. I was then told i will be playing a lead and there would be a shoot in London for 15 days. I got quite excited, later i was informed that now i'll be playing the lead's brother and instead of London we will be shooting in Sakinaka(laughs). After a while when things started getting monotonous, I was planning to go to The New York Film Academy. But then Pavitra Rishta came my way. So what can i say, hard work pays off! And I'm enjoying learning film-making in process. But one thing I would hope changes in this profession is the 'split personality' concept. I play Manav but Sushant is a complete opposite. But people when they meet me treat me as Manav which i may not deserve. A bollywood actor i look up to has to be Aamir Khan and i would love to work with Katrina Kaif (smiles), though I'm quite happy with Ankita Lokhande as well. I just wish one Friday I have 3 films releasing by Yash Chopra, Vishal Bharadwaj and Shekhar Kapur and yes, i shall have an apartment beside the apartment behind Mannat which will be my jannat (smiles)."
Ankita Lokhande
"I was working on Bali Umar ko Salaam but that shut down within no time thanks to the infamous television industry blackout. Its then when so many problems came together. I was literally desperate to work and would take up whatever i could get . I was really upset. I had come from Cine Stars ki Khoj here and i was staying alone. So there are lots of minor problems of people staying alone here, the most obvious being house rent. And borrowing money from your mom and dad all the time isn't acceptable. I had given so many auditions, some being for Uttaran, Bhaskar Bharti and Pavitra Rishta of course. When i got a call from Balaji for the lead, I couldn't believe it. I was literally asking, 'are you sure?' That was one of the best moments of my life. But you know what; I have always felt that the people behind the camera really don't get what they deserve. I really wish they were appreciated a little more as it is because of them we are actually able to come on screen. Anyways, I would love to work with Shah Rukh Khan and only if I could have a career like Kareena Kapoor's. I would also love to work with Smriti Irani and Abhishek Rawat.".
Sushant Singh Rajput
" I was one of the few scholarship students of the Delhi Engineering College, one of the all India toppers. In my 3rd semester I had joined Shaimak Davar's dance troupe. Shaimak had told me one day, 'You're not only one of my finest dancers but you have got some great expressions and so why don't you try for theatre?' So i joined Barry John theatre class in my 6th semester. Meanwhile i flunked atleast 15 times in my college and i thought before they throw me out i better leave.(laughs) I think it was the first time in the history of Delhi Engineering College someone dropped out to join Shaimak and Barry John. But the turning point was the Commonwealth Games in Australia where i performed with Aishwarya Rai, Shaimak mentioned that I should move to Mumbai if i wanted to make a career in the glamour world. I came to Mumbai and joined Nadira Babbar's theatre group. I also joined another choreographer - Ashley Lobo and also learned Martial Arts from Allan and Amin. I then went to Mohit Suri saying that I wanted to be an actor. He then told me to start assisting him on the pre-production of Raaz 2 and i became his third assistant Director. In my last play for Nadira Babbar, a production executive from Balaji saw me and liked my performance. He got in touch with me and asked me to come over for an audition. I was then told i will be playing a lead and there would be a shoot in London for 15 days. I got quite excited, later i was informed that now i'll be playing the lead's brother and instead of London we will be shooting in Sakinaka(laughs). After a while when things started getting monotonous, I was planning to go to The New York Film Academy. But then Pavitra Rishta came my way. So what can i say, hard work pays off! And I'm enjoying learning film-making in process. But one thing I would hope changes in this profession is the 'split personality' concept. I play Manav but Sushant is a complete opposite. But people when they meet me treat me as Manav which i may not deserve. A bollywood actor i look up to has to be Aamir Khan and i would love to work with Katrina Kaif (smiles), though I'm quite happy with Ankita Lokhande as well. I just wish one Friday I have 3 films releasing by Yash Chopra, Vishal Bharadwaj and Shekhar Kapur and yes, i shall have an apartment beside the apartment behind Mannat which will be my jannat (smiles)."
Ankita Lokhande
"I was working on Bali Umar ko Salaam but that shut down within no time thanks to the infamous television industry blackout. Its then when so many problems came together. I was literally desperate to work and would take up whatever i could get . I was really upset. I had come from Cine Stars ki Khoj here and i was staying alone. So there are lots of minor problems of people staying alone here, the most obvious being house rent. And borrowing money from your mom and dad all the time isn't acceptable. I had given so many auditions, some being for Uttaran, Bhaskar Bharti and Pavitra Rishta of course. When i got a call from Balaji for the lead, I couldn't believe it. I was literally asking, 'are you sure?' That was one of the best moments of my life. But you know what; I have always felt that the people behind the camera really don't get what they deserve. I really wish they were appreciated a little more as it is because of them we are actually able to come on screen. Anyways, I would love to work with Shah Rukh Khan and only if I could have a career like Kareena Kapoor's. I would also love to work with Smriti Irani and Abhishek Rawat.".
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