You Can't be a Bollywood Actor | Quit Now!

My objective of this post 

• Is not to convince you to give up acting. On the contrary, hopefully it can be a platform to make your decision that will either direct you towards your acting goals with an iron determination...

Or...

• You will realize that if you’re not going to be serious about acting and make intelligent efforts, your life has a better chance of being better somewhere else, may be in some other job or in a business.

Many just dream to be a Bollywood or TV Serial stars. From the outside, it’s easy to think that I have great looks, a 6 packs body and whenever I post my photographs in status updates on  Facebook or other social media, I get hundreds or sometimes thousands of "like" with comments  "hi hero", "great photo", "why don't you become the hero" etc etc, And you start seeing yourself as a hero, a star with lots of fame and money, cars and bungalow like "Mannat" of Shah Rukh Khan.
You start talking to yourself "Wow! People will contact me sitting at home and all I have to do is to memorize the lines and blurt it out in front  of a casting director".

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It can take a long time for you to accept rejections in auditions, to accept that there is a cut throat competition, many look better than you, better trained than you in the contemporary acting techniques, are better marketing guys to promote themselves and have better financial resources to manage themselves in Mumbai for a considerable time. Then one fine morning the truth dawns upon you: That things aren’t true to your real life!

Unfortunately, many of us never get to that point.

• Far too many people who think they want to be actors think of “To be a star” as a lottery—just being in the right place and the right time in order to be “discovered.” They have no real strategy, but are instead just wishing for a happy accident. 
• They don’t develop their craft because they think it’s all a question of talent— either you have it or you don’t. 
• And, my friends, I have seen so many of our aspiring actors coming from different parts of our country with a feeble minded, irrational dreams who have given up when they’ve exhausted their money, mental, emotional, and physical health, and their precious youth.
• Put another way, the romantic idea of being an actor is far different than the reality, which can often be brutal, not just because the industry can be challenging and sometimes ruthless (after all it is a business, not a charity), but also because the work itself is extremely difficult. Film and TV shoots can take weeks or months, with long, lonely hours away from your family and friends. Some roles and the prep and performance necessary to do it well can take a toll on your body, heart, and mind, and leave lasting effects.

The Cost of Actor in Waiting

• We've lost some amazing artists to alcohol, drugs and depression resulting from the demands—usually placed on them by themselves in searching what they want.
• As an acting coach, I would always support and like them alive and happy, but NOT regardless of the cost of a life which is either pursuing an ambiguous and unrealistic goal or rather no goal. 
• There are a few artists who have reached a place of wealth, fame, and success, who we refer to as the “stars” and “celebrities.” Like Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif. But they make up a tiny, tiny fraction of the working actor community, let alone all actors aspiring to be working actors. 
• Star status is possible, but there is only of you know the game and its requirements

So, if you want to act or if you know you are an actor, if you know you simply can’t be happy doing anything else, then meet

The Requirements

1. If you’re ready to pay the price in terms of the development of your craft and the demands of high-level performance
2. If you’re willing to expend years, maybe decades, before you achieve working actor status
3. If you truly are prepared for the emotional, mental, and physical roller coaster that is acting
4. And if you’re prepared to meet the challenges of the acting business and industry
5. Then by all means, continue acting and redouble your efforts.

If the answer is NO, that is OK.

• You’ll likely make your parents a lot happier working in a field in which security is more predictable, perhaps assured, and one that is more favorable to a stable home environment in which to raise a family. Most importantly, you may find more happiness and fulfillment of your life’s potential doing something else.

It just saddens me that so many people come to Mumbai to be an actor, but never really give it their full effort, never really get in the game, and then retreat after years of disappointment. More than anything, I just want people to be happy, healthy, loved, and wealthy. There are easier ways to be those things than being an actor.

Those of you who truly are actors will understand what I’m saying and will not be discouraged. Those of you who are better off doing something else may be.
All I’m saying is to think about it.

If you’re going to take on this being an actor’s journey, get in shape, chart your course on a map, procure your supplies like training, marketing tools, etc., pack your bag, grab, lace up your boots, and just put one foot in front of the other until you’ve reached your goal or, I’m sorry  you’re dead!

Remember, you can’t fail if you never quit

Rewritten to suit Indian Cine Industry scenario
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