'AN ACTOR'S CRAFT IS QUITE MISUNDERSTOOD'

Mita Vashisht talks about mentoring actors for a new digital show, says “acting is a science as well as an art”

Afilm, theatre and television personality, Mita Vashisht recently mentored the actors of a youth show that is soon going to air on Ekta Kapoor’s digital platform. Since 1990, the actor has been teaching at the major film institutes including National School of Drama, Anupam Kher’s acting studio, and Subhash Ghai’s film school, among others. She says, “Teaching is something that I seem to be good at. In the past, I have taught actors how to act, among other things, I have shown directors how to work with actors and I have even lessoned fashion designers on how to work with a human body and how to go about designing for various characters. This was the first

My job is to help them be their best and not paint everyone with the same brush. Teaching acting is a highly individualised and specialised job. MITA VASHISHT, ACTOR

time that I was training actors for a specific show and it was a totally different experience especially because I had only nine days for the workshop. We worked on the characters that the actors had to play, and many other aspects of their performances including voice, speech, breath and body language. It was a challenge and great fun.” Vashisht conducts these workshops at her studio in Andheri (W), which “has every possible thing that actors need for workshops”.

Having worked as an actor with many established filmmakers over the years, teaching is “not just a hobby” for Vashisht, and she really enjoys it. She says, “I have done some great work with some great directors, and I am satisfied with the wonderful work that I have done in the past. But I also want to wait and do more wonderful work. Additionally, I feel that an actor’s craft is quite a misunderstood one. Acting is magical, it is a science as well as an art. The science part of the craft is not talked about much. One has to be ambitious about work, and has to undergo training to be a lambi race ka ghoda. It shouldn’t be such that you work only for as long as you get work. For me, an actor is an individual with his unique strengths and weaknesses. My job is to help them be their best and not paint everyone with the same brush. Teaching acting is a highly individualised and specialised job. You can’t teach acting to a group as it has to be on a one-toone level. The goal is to enhance their strengths and give them insight on how to use the knowledge that is provided to them, while acting.”

Vashisht also continues to act “when good projects come” her way. She is has signed a digital series with film-maker

Tigmanshu Dhulia.