An aspiring actor walks onstage and delivers a line. He is not doing a bad job, but still, Onir is not impressed. He walks up to the actor, pats him on the back and says, “You’re doing a good job, but you’re forgetting that there is a camera in front of you, and that is the audience’s perspective.” It was a reality check for the actor, who was a first year theatre student at Napa (National Academy of Performing Arts), and the second take turned out to be significantly better than the first.
This was just one of the many learning moments for aspiring and professional actors who gathered at Napa to audition for Onir’s next film. The auditions were an extension of the Sindh Film festival, where Onir, the man behind critically acclaimed films like Bas Ek Pal and My Brother Nikhil, was invited as a jury member. Though the turnout wasn’t as high as expected, due to the cancellation of previous events of the Sindh festival, Onir wasn’t disappointed.
“A couple of auditions were excellent, and there is some serious talent out here, but unfortunately most actors didn’t come under the age group that I was looking for,“ said Onir, while talking to The Expres Tribune.
Onir was looking for actors between the ages of 18-25 to launch in Bollywood as upcoming stars, but most actors who showed up were either too young or too old. He didn’t have a particular film in mind, but was looking for actors who could be trained to be future prospects, if not immediately launched. Having said that, Onir has a film set in Lucknow, and it’s the Pakistani ease with the pronunciation of Urdu that makes actors from here a gold mine for the Bangladeshi film-maker.
“One huge advantage that I find with actors over here, and something I really admire, is the language. I think the way they speak Urdu is so beautiful and graceful. It’s incredible,” says Onir.
If Onir was seeking people with accurate Urdu diction then he has chosen the right place to look, as Napa is headed by master orator Zia Mohyeddin; a man whose command in Urdu and English diction is currently unparalleled in the sub-continent.
“Some of them are really on top of their game, and some of them aren’t, but I am not really judging them right now. I am looking for a talent that can evolve into something great. Also, you can’t judge them [the actors] now because they have been directed by other people, not by me.”
Auditions started in the afternoon, and went on into the late hours of the night, with a number of actors showing up to get feedback from a director who has consistently worked on feature films; something that is rare to find in Pakistan. So apart from the language, does Onir find anything aesthetically unique about Pakistani actors?
“Well that’d be a lie if I’d agreed,” he smirks. “I think that for me, it’s more about being part of a movement that recognizes that we are the same people with similar cultures and a similar language. More so, this creates one large pool of talent, from which both countries can benefit.”
Details of the auditions have yet to be disclosed, as Onir will be taking the footage with him to India to shortlist and find possible options. He strongly feels there is no reason why a trained actor from Pakistan would in any way be considered different from a trained actor in India, because in terms of exposure, they both watch and experience Indian cinema.
“We are exposed to the same type of films; I don’t think you have a disadvantage. I don’t think Pakistan lacks talent, I don’t think I am here to improve their art, I’ve come to share my experience from a bigger industry,” he said.
Let’s hope we get to see one of these actors from Napa on the big screen in India and Pakistan, because if that happens, then local artistes will have a new benefactor in Bollywood after Mahesh Bhatt. Kudos to the organizers of Sindh Film festival for putting together a venture that can lead to long term prospects for Pakistani artistes.
Published in The Expres Tribune, February 17th, 2014.
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