Sunday, April 26, 2009

It aint easy being an actor

I am an Actor, I hope some of the blog readers who read my blog(other than me) know that. Was just watching a Video clip of Al Pacino on Inside the Actor`s studio.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73bTHMfKEbM) The conversation reached a point where they spoke about Actors being either introvert or extrovert. Though I knew it,I never really THOUGHT about it. I am an introvert. It takes me time to open up to people. Acting is essentially my therapy,my way of breaking that image of an introvert. Al Pacino mentioned he used to fabricate stories as a child. Well so did I, but am not quite proud of it I must say. I must have been just a step away from being a pathological liar, which is very dangerous. As a child you might make innocent stories/lies but if you carry that habit as an adult you are royally screwed. And I am sure am not the only one in this category. I think that was my first realization of how creative and how good an an actor I am.
You know It s very funny, and I hope I have understood it to the best of my ability. An actor who is an introvert would love to be have his own space but he also craves wildly for times when he is loved and respected by all, basically he craves for the adulation and his acting, his work provides him that. Ironically the more the intensity of the people`s adulation the more he loses his private space. And that can drive anyone crazy. That`s why i understand why some of our stars/actors are so erratic/eccentric. Its not easy being an actor/star, especially a good one. Well I dont really need to worry about all this now. But its good to keep these thoughts in mind.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Realize!!

Some days ago i got a forward message from a friend of mine which said something to the effect of "People around you whom you grow up with build your character". Interesting perspective but i feel its incomplete.Our character i believe is always there in us, the aggressor or the passive guy, the emotional fool or the objective dude, whatever trait of our personality it may be they are all there in us. PEOPLE/SITUATIONS around us help us in "realizing" that trait of our personality. They do not build our character by enforcing a personality trait in us. We chooose the personality trait that we connect with and if we connect with it, it is a part of us. Omkara for example is a movie I like not only for its slick and rustic style but for the character played by saif ali khan. For those who dont know this movie is an Indain cinematic adaptation of
Othello. Saif played the character of IAGO. Now the reason i connected so strongly to IAGO is because i have a personality trait of his. JEALOUSY. I always thought I am only envious, not jealous, until the day I did something out of jealousy. The realization was overwhelming and I didn't know if I could handle it. But the first step in handling such a negative personality trait is to realize and be aware. Now I am aware when I do or say something. I ask myself "Is this jealousy or is it something you truly feel?" Believe me, it helps.