Script of a lifetime

Manpriya Singh

Thick skin, lots of confidence, of course talent too and then there’s luck. About half-a-dozen factors need to be in the right place before an outsider can hope for a lucky break or at least be anywhere near the known studios and the film sets  of Bollywood. Getting a foothold in Mumbai is one thing, B-town quite another. We get talking to talent from the region that successfully made the first cut. 

Comic angle

Balraj

What makes comedian Balraj’s success story relatable and inspiring is the fact that it started out with two rejections back-to-back. “I travelled from Jalandhar to Chandigarh for the auditions of Laughter Challenge and was rejected. Then I went to audition again in Amritsar and was rejected again. They told me to prepare some more and come back next year.”  The Laughter Challenge 4 of course he cracked and how!  

But, often, bagging a big role takes more than cracking the audition. “I also remember auditioning for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela. I said my lines in front of him and that was a really big deal for me. Even though I couldn’t get the role because that was later given to a known Bollywood actor, but one hour after the audition I got a call from the casting team saying that Bhansali liked my audition.” 

Tips for auditioning 

Before auditioning, it is important to read the script. More importantly, read it loudly. At least a hundred times. And even more important to rehearse it in different moods.  And most important, don’t have any expectations after any audition. 

Big ticket

Karan Chhabra 

At the time we called up the Chandigarh lad, he was busy shooting with Shahid Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh. It’s a life Karan Singh Chhabra has wanted since a long time. “Things are smooth right now,” he looks back at the days when he was starting out as a struggler, juggling a job and reality show auditions too. “My first ever audition was for a reality show called Ticket to Bollywood when I was working as a software engineer in Noida. The judges were Mukesh Chhabra, Mahima Chaudhary and Jassie Gill. I wanted to meet Mukesh Chhabra, the number one casting director in the industry. It was a big audition,” says the actor last seen in Star Plus’ show Kulfi Kumar Bajewala.  Next thing he found himself again in Mukesh Chhabra’s office for a role in Fanney Khan. “They gave a scene where I am rapping and Anil Kapoor’s daughter is being made fun of because she is obese.”  

Tips for aspiring actors:  

Read the script well, prepare well before auditioning. Discuss the role, the age of the character and the format of the reality show. That really helps. 

Happy go lucky

Gavie Chahal 

When you are outsider to B-town, but have starred with and exchanged fitness tips with Salman Khan, you better have a believable story.  But our Punjab da munda Gavie Chahal has an enviable one. Actually he never gave the first audition! “My first audition was in Punjab only for which I never went. My first audition in Mumbai was for a serial called Astitva and even though I knew nothing about auditions, I wasn’t nervous.” However, his most memorable audition has to be the one he gave to Kabir Khan for Ek Tha Tiger. “I met him at a club, he was leaving and I was entering, and I met him in the lift. I said ‘hi’ and that broke the ice; I asked him about the process of auditions and he gave me his number as well as email id. I got a call and gave the audition, but to his assistants. They asked me to perform but I wasn’t very happy.” As luck would have it, he bumped into Kabir Khan again. “I offered to re-audition but the way he took it was very different.” Next, he was selected for the only character that was left to be cast in a Salman Khan film. His reaction was like, “Wow.”  

Tips for aspiring actors:

Being selected at the end of the audition is not important, but giving your best is. 

Stage is set

Aanchal Chauhan 

This Chandigarh girl, at least that’s how she can be safely called, since her first experience of going out actually happened in Chandigarh! She laughs, “I studied from GCG and have always been into singing, dancing, theatre and debates.” So while she was doing theatre in Delhi, one of the acting coaches advised her to audition for a role. “I went, but the casting person instead found me fit for a role in the film. Later, I found that this audition was for the film Brij Mohan Amar Rahe, currently running on Netflix. Next day, I got a call and I was in.” 

As for her upcoming big break in Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh, “I play Arjan Bajwa’s wife. A new girl in the family who doesn’t have much say.” The part came her way after Mukesh Chhabra saw the introductory video.  

Tips for aspiring actors:  

There are no shortcuts. It’s day and night of hard work. Work on your craft, read, do theatre and follow people who inspire you. Take each audition as a learning workshop.