Breaking it down and crafting a success plan
Putting together the first roster of celebrities for Celebrity School (CS) was not too difficult. Its founder, Siddharth Prabhakar, 39 (top inset), has run Floating Campus, a career counselling and training company, for 10 years, with co-founder Hema Rukadikar,
38 (bottom inset). They already had a list of celebrities they’d enlisted to work with students.
What got the ball rolling was running into youngster after youngster eager to pursue what Prabhakar calls “passion-related” careers. “They had no opportunity to learn how to become successful with that passion,” Prabhakar says. “So I thought, why not create a platform for that?”
Launched in December 2019, Mumbaibased Celebrity School currently offers 10 masterclasses. Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui (below), photographer Daboo Ratnani (top) and dancer Ganesh Acharya offer sessions on their craft. Chefs Ranveer Brar and Vikas Khanna demonstrate dishes; singer Shaan (right) runs through singing exercises and tips on mastering vocal techniques.
“We choose celebrities who are passionate about their work, legends in the domain and have the inclination to teach,” says Prabhakar. Once a celebrity has signed on, the CS team gets to work figuring out what to include in the masterclass such that it will be of value to both beginner and expert. “We do this by conducting surveys with stuthe dents and experts in field,” says Prabhakar.
Dev Bezbaruah, 29, a software developer and professional photographer from Guwahati, signed up for the masterclass with Ratnani. The advice and techniques he picked up were unique and helped him venture into fashion photography, an area he had little knowledge of, he says.
“I learnt secret lighting and camera techniques, which I was looking forward to learning from this master,” Bezbaruah says. And because the course is accesto sible the buyer in perpetuity, he has been able to return to it for multiple refresher lessons. Celebrity School’s masterclasses are extensive, often containing over 30 sessions, stretching across up to six-and-a-half hours. Most are available in English and Hindi. Based on demand, dubbed versions may be added. Etiquette coach and former TV host Sabira Mer communications chant’s masterclass, for instance, is available in English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Pulkit Agrawal, 21, an aspiring chef currently in culinary school in Hyderabad, signed up for the Brar and Khanna classes. “Learning from them is a rare opportunity,” he says. “Using local ingredients to make fusion dishes, and tips on plating, were important takeaways from both.” Agrawal signed up for the masterclasses almost three months ago and, like Bezbaruah, has returned to them multiple times. Prabhakar says the company is working to add to its roster. Coming up: Masterclasses by badminton champion Saina Nehwal, boxing legend Mary Kom, and journalist and author Hussain Zaidi.