Why Acting Was A Temporary Job For Siddharth

Brut India

“I think someday when I become a director, I hopefully have actors who ask me as many questions.” Siddharth speaks on how working as an assistant director helped him become a better actor.  Thanks to KKR Mind Studio for the footage.

Transcript

00:00When I first became an actor, I always thought of it as a temporary job.

00:05Actors are very vain, selfish, immature people.

00:11One evening before your release, are we?

00:14That's a lovely question.

00:16It's actually a question you will get a different answer from every actor.

00:21In fact, probably a different answer every time you answer the same actor also.

00:26Because there's really no hard and fast about this question.

00:31Because when I first became an actor, I always thought of it as a temporary job.

00:38That I would become a director one day and fulfill my dream.

00:42Then I realized that I'm just becoming an actor, I'm getting more and more work.

00:47Then it started becoming important to me.

00:50And I can tell you from personal experience in the last 10 years,

00:53the more important it becomes to you, the less you enjoy the releases.

01:00It's kind of inversely proportional.

01:02The less you actually think about it,

01:04the more enjoyable it becomes to watch a film on the first day.

01:08Because you're not thinking about it.

01:09Because what happens is, this whole thing of a hit or a flop

01:13is not really that important to any actor.

01:16Because actors are very vain, selfish, immature people.

01:20We just want to look at ourselves on screen.

01:22Did I do this well?

01:23Is my looking alright?

01:25Is my makeup okay?

01:26Is my hair spiked at the right place?

01:28This is what we are concerned with.

01:29How much money the producer got or made or lost, we don't care.

01:33But when all this conversation happens before a release,

01:37people start talking about hits and flops.

01:38And the industry uses these words.

01:40And the media uses these words.

01:41That's when it kind of gets into your own thinking.

01:45So instead of thinking of one of two things,

01:47which is, is it a nice film or not?

01:49Or if I'm looking nice or not?

01:50You start thinking of how much money this film will make,

01:53which territory it will make, what profit.

01:55That is not an enjoyable part of the show.

01:57So I mean, I've trained myself to care a lot

02:02and think a lot about my film till the day I finish dubbing it.

02:06And then I just forget about it.

02:08I just forget about it.

02:09Because I want to enjoy the release.

02:11As it is, we've lost the fun of watching films on the first day

02:14because we are in them.

02:16It's not fun watching yourself.

02:18How did the director in you take up sometimes?

02:20The director is the wannabe director.

02:23And we come out and do something.

02:25That's a good question.

02:28Training as an assistant director.

02:30I'm a better actor than him.

02:32Because it helps me understand things other than acting better.

02:36What happens in a film shoot and the technical aspects of it.

02:40But the truth of the matter is,

02:43many people have different opinions of what an actor's job is.

02:47So if you as business students were asked, what's an actor's job?

02:51Some of you might say, it's his job.

02:53He gets paid.

02:54He has to come.

02:54What the director says, he should do.

02:56Some of you might say, no, he should actually prepare and do research

03:00and get the character right and do method acting and come and do it.

03:03So everybody has a different take.

03:04I have a very simple logic of how to perform.

03:08And that's what I applied even to my own mentor.

03:10Which is, until I have zero doubts in my mind,

03:14I can't perform without inhibition.

03:18So I ask him as many questions as I have.

03:22For simple reasons that when you're acting,

03:24it's always my method makes me need to have all those answers.

03:29So you can call that the assistant director and me or the actor and me.

03:32Both of them do the same thing.

03:33They ask lots of questions.

03:35And I would say anybody, because at this age in your life,

03:38it's the finest thing I can tell you is never be afraid to ask questions.

03:42Because there's only two things that can happen.

03:45Either somebody will answer you or they won't answer you.

03:47But at least you'll be a better person for having asked that question.

03:50At least you're identifying yourself that you have that doubt.

03:52And it won't linger inside your head after that.

03:55So if it applies to daily life, it applies doubly to acting.

03:58So that's how I approach it.

04:00I ask lots of questions.

04:01And I think someday when I become a director,

04:04I'll hopefully have actors who ask me as many questions

04:06because it will help me clear all my doubts then too.

Category

Transcript

Recommended