Tips on Great Acting

Who is your favorite actor? Actress? What do you think the best qualities made him/her so?   When did you complaint last time that the award given to such and such actor was not justified and your favorite was best?   I am sure you all have opinion on what would be the qualities of a great actor. In this review I am trying to give words to my thoughts on what makes a great actor. So guys here we go.Most of us are excellent in expressing our opinion in writing. Many of us are good in speaking out what we wish to speak. How many but will listen to others to understand what they are talking?   Listening is an art which one should master to get friends and keep friends. We have to listen with our eyes, ears and mind.   Words, action and/or emotions are required to understand a message. A person’s words, action and movement have to be studied before we even dare to imitate them.   Observation is the No. 1 quality one has to acquire to become a great actor!

Human beings are blessed ones who can reproduce many situations according to their will.   In the most conservative and negative sense acting is true lying. Art of telling a lie is not that simple. Only people with great will power and confidence can do that and get away with it. A simple man cannot tell a lie to make others believe. It requires a lot of imagination to counter the queries by the suspicious inspectors. It is an art which require a lot of concentration, memory and awareness of the situations.   No…I am not telling all these to make you as a liar.   However, if you want to be a great actor you should require all the qualities which can make you a liar!!! Lol!!!

Human habits are formed by repeated doing of things in a particular manner.   Once it has become a habit it is very difficult to say no to it. Chain smokers, Nail biters etc. are the hardest victims of habits. To imitate other’s habits are not that easy as our own habits intervene many times in between. Your ability to cover your habit completely by reflecting other person’s habits make you a perfect imitator.

Let me tell you frankly, I cannot act in an English drama as my English is not sufficient to imitate any characters. That is not the case when it comes to my abilities to act in a Malayalam drama. I can do it pretty well. I can intrude into many of the characters, many of the emotions etc.   Why, because the ability to control my tongue to the needs of the character’s habit and accent requires more than 100% fluency and I am a just pass with 40%! Our ability to twist our tongue to the needs of the role is the first class degree one can possess in acting.

There is a general concept that Dance is an art form promoted for girls. Now a day both male and female has to do the dancing to choreograph a perfect duet.   The days of males walking and females dance era has gone. There are some terrific dancers in cinema.   Kamal Hassan, Sharukh Khan, Mohan Lal all can dance well. Who can forget the dance sequence between Madhuri & Karishma in ’Dil to Pagal Hai’?   Mammootty is one actor who got greatness even without dancing, but that is one talent he misses and he has paid his price for that already. Flexibility is important. Our ability to move our legs to the needs of the situation will help us all the way when we perform.

There is a belief that one can enter into other’s body and do whatever we want to do with the body. A lot of terror films are made with this theme. Many swamis claim that they can do the "Parakayapravesa". A great actor is the best example that one can invite another character into his body.   The way Mimicry artists imitate people is simply unbelievable. I have heard a story that there was a competition to find the best imitator of Charlie Chaplain and for fun sake the original Charlie Chaplain too participated in it.   To the joy of Charlie Chaplain, the original got third prize in the competition! Such is the power of hidden talent in great actors. A great actor should be able to do the "Parakayapravesa" when he does the acting. Living as the character is the ultimate.

Know the medium and act to the audience is another area one great actor need to understand. If it is for drama, the audience has to see the expression of the actor till the last line and may have to overdo it. When acting before the camera, one has to be aware of the camera angles and even a minute movement will be captured by it. Some good camera faces keep the attraction of the audience for some time, but to place a character in audience mind forever one need real talent.   Improvisation at stage can be done only by an accomplished actor.

What is your shoe size?   Everybody needs to fit into the size of the shoes which is suited to them. If one takes a big shoe like our children do, they have to drag it all the way and at the end the child will fall.   If we fit ourselves to the smaller size of the shoe, not only that we will not be comfortable, but chances are that our skin will be hurt as well.    When one role is assigned to you, please see yourself that the role suites you.   If in doubt, take an expert opinion.

Rehearse the script well. Read it, study it by heart. Don’t depend on prompting. Practice it as required in the scene in front of a mirror. Many a times I have noticed that when I imagine and act myself I feel comfortable. When I practice in front of a mirror only I realize that I am not acting as I am imagining and my acting needs change.   If there is no good director to direct you, listen to him and try to improvise yourself. Listening to your director is important.   Some roles require practice at wilderness of a desert or a jungle. .) If you want to shout like Gabbar Singh in stage, you have to practice it somewhere. Do it. (If no jungle available, practice it in closed doors Lolzzz!)

Mohan Lal, Kamal Hassan, Shahrukh Khan, Mammootty, Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal, Jagathy Sreekumar, ….Shabana Azmi, Sobhana, Manju Warrior, Saradha, Laxmi, Smitha Patel…you must be having a huge list of actors you admire. They are great actors of substance. Do you want to be one? If yes…Look at them…observe them, learn from them….but be yourself, practice well and perform brilliantly….forget about the past and don’t think about future…live as the character…You are an extension of the character!!!