Acting coach Atul Mongia reveals the secrets behind great acting on the latest episode of The Rediff Podcast.
Lights! Camera! Action!
And with these cues, the acting begins.
But what comes before that performance? Before the lights come on, before the camera rolls, before an actor steps into character?
For an actor, there is a preparation. This prep involves learning, unlearning, observing, and a whole of process creating a perception.
This is where Atul Mongia enters the picture.
Atul is an acting mentor, casting director, writer and filmmaker who has spent more than two decades in the Hindi film industry exploring what makes an actor tick.
His work has shaped performances across Hindi cinema including Dev D, Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Shor in the City, Shanghai, Queen, Lootera, Titli, and more recently, Saiyaara. He has coached Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Anushka Sharma, Sushmita Sen, Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda, and many others.
Yet, perhaps the most interesting thing about Atul is that he doesn't see himself as someone who 'creates' actors.
His process is rather simple.
"I do a lot of talking to the actor who is sitting in front of me. It is about the character they are going to play. My aim to make them go deeper into introspection of a character. A lot of that process is psychological, he says.
"No matter how big an actor is, or how many films they have done, every actor is nervous about starting a new character."
On this latest episode of The Rediff Podcast, Atul Mongia reveals the secret behind great acting, the acting difference between Vicky Kaushal and Ranveer Singh, names the actor who impressed him the most during an audition (Hint: She led Netflix's original horror series), and explains what makes an actor click.
Interview: Mayur Sanap/Rediff
Video Production: Rajesh Karkera, Saahil Acharekar, Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff
Editing: Saahil Acharekar/Rediff
