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I am an actor. My first film was a super-hit. It made the producer earn a lot of money and gave me a lot of fame. The funny part is that I acted in Tum Bin as a project for which I was paid a stipend and not the money that comes to the star of a very popular film. After the release, I was faced with odd situations like walking into a shopping mall after getting off from an auto and being mobbed by girls who wanted to just touch me.
To put it lightly, right now, public memory of me is hazy. Well, such is life. I currently am in Mumbai, actively modelling. It is decent money. However, I still try to be that spark in a surprise film which will lead me to superstardom. It's proved elusive so far.
I'm from a typical middle-class family in Delhi, with one of the most down-to-earth childhoods. My father initiated me to the Hanuman Chalisa and my mother to the rituals and community feelings of Durga Puja. I still have that in me and want to come back to Delhi whenever I can to imbibe more.
My parents badly want me to get married. I try to steer clear of this as I don't think I shall find someone soon who will be able to take a wife's role of a man who is away for three to four months at a stretch for shooting. I don't think an actor makes a good husband or a family man. I am not going to hurt someone's feelings now.
I was married once. When the tinsel from Tum Bin was wearing off, so was the happiness from my first marriage. Ever since, I've been wary of marrying again.
The film industry is a mixed bag and is not conducted as a business in Mumbai as it is in Beverly Hills. Here, it is a lot of obliging of friends and financier moneybags. The media wants to know a lot about the casting couch. However, it is common knowledge that all kinds exist: those who ask for favours, those who want to give those favours thinking that is the only way to go about this business, and lastly there are directors, producers and actors who solely stress on acting abilities and screenplay.
Having acted in 15 films, I've realized that many things are important before signing the contract. One is if the producer is planning to spend enough on promoting the film. I also realize you have to advertise an average or above-average film but a great film spreads by word of mouth. Unfortunately, a great film comes once in a lifetime.
Bollywood allows a lot of star sons and daughters to fail repeatedly before their work is finally accepted and before they get to learn the tricks of the trade. If you go to the IMDB website and type in a star child's name you will find that they have acted in numerous disasters before they have become stars themselves. Even their partial successes are touted as grand successes by using the media.
There is nothing wrong with this; everybody tries to protect their turf. But this doesn't allow the best actors to come up. The absence of the Darwinian process of natural selection does not allow for the best or most popular actors to become successful.
Many changes are taking place too. The attitude of the Indian woman, who demands more both in the workplace and in bed. The attitude of the new-age professional, who is free to experiment with technologies such as the Internet.
Today a coalition of actors, just like Charles Chaplin's United Artists, can make a film on a digital camera and allow downloads from a website for $10. I don't think the caucus of producers of Bollywood would have any say in its success. As they say, change is constant. One thing remains the same: the starlight in our eyes and our pursuit of glitter. That is truly an everyday affair.B
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