Why Casting Directors Pick Clean Shaven Actors to Unshaven

"Clean Shaven" Campaign for actors by Bollywood

Do you like to be unshaven hoping a 'Macho' profile for auditions?

Unfortunately, Indians still being tied to our culture has a notion that an unshaven is unbathed, smelling and dirty. This is more a common view of women looking and assessing men.

The casting directors, too, seem to have this view. When I discussed with some of the casting directors, they opinionated that though there are exceptions, an unshaven actor with a stubble may block their creative vision and may thus offer limited casting options (a thief, villain, beggar or in other negative roles), whereas, if the performance interests them, a clean shaved actor's face may trigger their imagination in creating a diverse profile by working on a clean slate. Even if he is not selected for the auditioned character, a casting director may consider him for future

You may comment 'But many Bollywood actors have stubble or have developed beard'
Yes, but after they attained success and stardom. Not during their early period of struggle!

Salman Khan Shaved during the struggle period and now

Though my objective here is not to offend men with stubble or unshaven except to give an audition advice, below here is an interesting event last year where many Bollywood celebrities participated and expressed their opinion on “unshaven vs shaven”

• 83% Women think men with stubble haven’t taken a bath*
• 86 % Women think clean shaven men smell good*
• 84% Women think clean shaven men make a good first impression*
• 81 % Women are attracted to a clean shaven man*

Mumbai, January 9, 2014: The nationwide ‘Unshaved is Unbathed’ movement, on a  mission to urge all men in India to shave every day and to make shaving a part of their daily regime has achieved tremendous support and encouragement from both men and women across the nation. Bollywood actors and popular film stars Chitrangada Singh, Sneha, Soha Ali Khan, Neha Dhupia along with women from all walks of life endorsed the thought “Unshaved is unbathed”, by travelling from city to city including Delhi, Lucknow, Indore, Bengaluru, Chennai among several others.

In a first of its kind ‘Shave theatre’ the Finale event gave us a preview into numerous homes & bathrooms across the cities the movement has traveled, demonstrating how women all over India prefer men with a clean shaven look. Women were seen protesting Unshaved is Unbathed and didn’t let their partners get out of the bathroom unless they are clean shaven and made it a daily regime as well. In a rare visual, leading Actors Arbaaz Khan & Vidyut Jammwal were seen shaving seated on bathtubs as they agreed to the Unshaved is Unbathed protest.

Malaika Arora Khan and Neha Dhupia highlighted their preference for clean shaven men and voiced the opinion of Indian women who think clean shaven men are more attractive. They make a better impression and they also smell good. Talking about routine grooming, hygiene, the actors expressed their disapproval of men who are not clean shaven, highlighting that they look unclean and unattractive, like they have not had a bath.

They further highlighted, “Grooming includes several things like well-maintained hair, clean nails, smelling good & overall hygiene amongst the rest. But, you have to start somewhere and men can do that with shaving every day to be clean. When a man sports stubble it looks like ‘he has not had a bath’. He doesn’t look fresh. Not just us, but 83% of Indian Women think men with stubble haven’t taken a bath*. If women can spend hours on grooming to look good, we would like men do the same not just for us, but to look fresh, clean and attractive. By shaving men can actually save themselves the trouble of having a bath twice, a quick shave makes them look fresh just like they have had a bath.”
In acknowledgement, actors Arbaaz Khan and Vidyut Jammwal said, “Yes, we agree with the sentiments of the women who are against unclean stubble. 83% of women in India think men with stubble haven’t taken a bath*, men need to pay more attention and start shaving like they bathe every day. While we do feel lazy to bathe sometimes, shaving helps us look fresh just like we had a bath in two minutes.  Moreover, men should realize that women put in so much effort to groom themselves for their partners, the least that men could do is stay clean and well groomed.”

*Based on Grazia India reader survey done on 300 respondents all over India.

As a manifestation of their strong protest against men with unclean stubble, Indian women unveiled the three mandates and vowed to follow them if their men didn’t shave:

• “We will not be your date if you don’t shave”
• “We will not share our space & things if you don’t shave”
• “We will go out alone if you don’t shave as we think no shave means you haven’t had a bath”

The moral of the story for actors

 Better to be clean shaven and look more stunning than unshaven, especially if a casting director or a director is a female!
Source

15 Secret Tips on How to Behave in Auditions to Get Role

Audition in process

Casting directors are your well-wishers and need you. However, your disconnected and lackluster performance does nothing for anyone. They are there to share your excellent work.
You are sitting eagerly at the waiting room. Casting directors await you on the other side of that door, the door that you can see as a gateway or an obstacle or a wall. Enter the audition room and just show your work.  Cooperate with the other creative people waiting for you to create a new life in a character, an exciting one. They can’t do it without you.

What Casting Directors Expect? 

Etiquette and Behavior  

To thrill a casting director in the audition room and get the role

1. They called you in with a purpose.  Accept the invitation with grace and enthusiasm. You were requested to be here as their guest.
2. Come to show your work and not to please or get our approval.
3. Enter with certainty. Don’t lose your true self  as soon as the door opens.
4. Make no excuses whatsoever. Leave your baggage outside. Better yet, at home.
5. Make the audition room your own. It will make other people so much more comfortable.
6. Ask questions only when you truly need answers. “Do you have any questions?” is usually another way of saying: “Are you ready?” You aren’t required to have one.
7. While seeking a permission politely, make and show choices of portraying a character. Take responsibility for the choices you make.
8. Don’t apologize, ever for anything.
9. Don’t mime or busy yourself with props, activity, or blocking. Keep it simple.
10. Don’t expect to be directed, but if you are, take the direction, no matter what it is. Understand how to translate results-oriented direction into action.
11. If there is a reader, speaking lines of your co-actor, don’t blame the reader. Make the reader the star of your audition. You should engage fully no matter who’s reading those lines
12. Make specific, personal, bold choices to play a scene. They want your unique self to bring the script and the character to life.
13. Stillness (quietness or silence) is powerful. Understand how to move and work in front of the camera. Remember, a camera has limitations especially of width – eliminate odd movements and exaggerated gestures
14. Understand that you’re there to cooperate. You’re being evaluated in terms of how you serve the role and the material like props. It's not a verdict on ’YOU’. Judgment is something you can control.
15. Share your artistry in your performance above all else.

Remember that they‘re all human in audition rooms, and you can affect and influence them on an emotional level. It’s what they all really want. That’s your job. They all desperately want you to do great work. They’re looking for that every time you walk into the room. Your fullest, deepest work,.You have the power to make that happen.
Partly based on source
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Do You Know New "Method Acting" Skills for Bollywood?

Method acting redesigned for Bollywood

Creating Awesome 'Character' based on Bollywood | TV Serial Scripts

Method acting" was created by Konstantin Stanislavsky. Actors research, imagine and create the background of the character in great depth, even looking into things that will not be revealed in the script and may be, never explained by a story writer or a director. Once the actor has a complete grasp of the character, he/she either uses experiences from his own life or from his/her observations in day to day life of people, places and situations to create the character's emotions and attitude to behave the way the character would likely behave.

For Bollywood films and TV serials, there is always a danger of:

Copying or trying to mimic a character based on how a top star (e.g. Amir Khan, Shah Rukh or Deepika Padkone) has performed a similar role in a film

There is always a temptation in an actor try desperately to copy a Bollywood star to portray a character given to him/her  irrespective of whether all the attributes of a character profile like physical, mental and social matches with his/her  or not.
In the above situations, the performance of an actor may look fake. Remember, a camera is an X-Ray machine!
The solution is to embrace those attributes of a character which match to your own profile and discard the ones which are not matching with you. Start assuming if you are that person,

 how would you behave. Then practice “As If” you are that character.

Where can you learn Learn "Method Acting" Techniques Tailored for Bollywood? 

• In any good acting school in Mumbai (check before you join)
• With a good acting coach who has redesigned 'Method Acting Techniques' suited for developing characters depicted in Indian films and TV serial stories (check before you join)
• Or contact us to get trained

Bollywood following Hollywood's ‘method acting’ technique?

Some of the Bollywood method actors

‘Hollywood actors are known to go to bizarre lengths to get into character. For instance, Daniel Day-Lewis apparently disappeared for a long period to prepare for his role in the Lincoln (2012).

Now, Bollywood actors seem to be taking a leaf out of the method acting book.

Anil Kapoor has decided to go off the radar for two-three months. That means no phone calls, media interactions or public appearances. The actor wanted to focus on his film (Zoya Akhtar’s next) and the second season of his TV show, 24.
Kapoor told Hindustan Times, "It’s important for an artiste. If you really want to create something, you have to do it. Otherwise, you will be constantly distracted."
Similarly, Varun Dhawan has decided to vanish to concentrate on Sriram Raghavan’s yet-untitled film: "Abhi main gayab hone waala hoon (I’m going to vanish) to work on the character applying ‘Method Acting Techniques’. I haven’t done anything like this till date,” he told us last week. He also tweeted that"…I will be off twitter (sic)".
Some actors don’t even interact with families during their prep. That’s what Sushant Singh Rajput did for over three months to focus on Dibakar Banerjee’s Detective Byomkesh Bakshy. While shooting, he was mostly unreachable even to his family and girlfriend Ankita Lokhande. The young actor says he is likely to go through the same process again for Shekhar Kapur’s Paani.

"I try to isolate myself as much as I can… This is the only way I can focus, work hard on “Method Acting Techniques"and convince myself that I have the authority to be the character," he told us recently.
Of course, when it comes to prep, one of the earliest stars to have done it is Aamir Khan. In 2012, he remained disconnected to focus on his TV show, and again for Dhoom:3. Farhan Akhtar, too, did it for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), as did Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Gangs of Wasseypur 2 (2012). "It’s my habit… (To work on Method Acting). Everyone has different ways of working on their craft," he says.
Source

Arjun Rampal is a method actor

After reportedly being signed on for the lead role opposite Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine, Arjun Rampal has now been roped in for Tigmanshu Dhulia’s next tentatively titled Jai Ramji alongside Preity Zinta, Irrfan Khan and Randeep Hooda.
A source close to the actor reveals that Arjun’s role in the film is that of a cop. “His character is based on a real life police officer from Allahabad. He has been meeting cops to get a deeper understanding of how to essay his role.”
On his recent visit to New Delhi, Arjun met police commissioner BK Gupta and a few members of his team to get a first-hand account of the job. “Arjun wanted to get the finer nuances of a cop’s life right. He plans on visiting top police officials from the North to ensure he gets the mannerisms right. He doesn’t want challenging roles to have a caricature-like feel,” adds the source. The gangster film, Jai Ramji, is set in the UP and is expected to go on the floors in July.
Source

Do You Need Artist Card? Authentic and Bogus | Check Here

One of the Artist card issued. Is this good or bad?

Are You Among Thousands Of Struggling Fools To Get An Artist Card To Fulfill Your Dream To Be An actor?

Oh, so you want to be a Kamgar (Majdoor), A Laborer, or a Junior Artist or a Petty Worker in the cine industry on a fixed daily wage and want a union to protect you? Or you want to take this route to be a Bollywood actor and are willing to wait for 10 to 20 years?
Good! Go ahead and take an artist card!

But Do an Actor Really Need An Artist Card?

Personally, NO!
 Artist Card issued by supposedly only authentic 'CINTTA' is primarily for offering a protection to an artist's interest like payments, working hours etc. They usually cannot guarantee  any role or any kind of job. Or perhaps when a production house requires a large number of junior artists for a crowd scene, CINTAA or Chitapat Artists associations like that of 'Shin Sena' may supply them.
In all other cases, those who ask for an artist card, 90% are Fake, with an objective to make money from ignorant aspiring actors 

The other aspects of my logic behind being skeptical is as follows:

1.  Artist card may be useful for junior artists, who is not professionally trained to play big and have NO ambitions to become a "Star" in the future. Either they have no speaking lines or may be one or two, only. They may or may not be well educated and are usually from a community of actors which require just a "job" and a "living" rather than to be a successful "actor" and a "Star" 
2. The casting directors may not consider you for a role if you are a registered junior artist with an artist card due to an apprehension of your refusing to work overtime or in case of any dispute of payments or other issues, may go to the union for  Redressal of your complaints, and may create problem during a shoot.
3. An educated aspiring actor, who is professionally trained, without union affiliation or with an artist card, therefore, may stand a better chance and may get a better role compared to a union artist card holder.
4. Many industry people may not agree with my opinion as this could be a source of livelihood for many. My apology to them

However, this is NOT  a rule. There are examples of junior artists who climbed the ladder of success and have become a good actor.

The best is to decide what are your priorities and then act.

The thumb rule is any casting director, coordinator or a production house asking for an artist card to give you a role or a break in the film and ready to issue you an artist card with a payment is 100% Fake

However, as many of the visitors of this blog have requested me to provide information on Artist Card, I'm mentioning the details below with a warning in the above paragraph:

Artists' & Actors Unions in India who issues Artist Cards:

Though I have selected few with the best of my knowledge out of hundreds, you are advised to check the credentials, before you pay.
Especially, DON'T PAY anything if after applying online with the portfolio you get a mail confirming your selection without your audition and then if they ask you to pay Rs. 3000 or more. They may be fraudsters and cheats.





Required documents:

• 5 Passport size Photographs
• Copy of any one out of  PAN CARD, RATION CARD, PASS PORT, DRIVING LICENCE, RESIDENTIAL PROOF, VOTER I CARD etc.

Mumbai

1. CINTAA **

One of the main artists’ and actors' unions in India is the Federation of Western India Cine Employees. The FWICE is a film industry worker’s union based in Mumbai, India.

* However, their requirements for an artist registration are a bit tough, like experience in films and serials. Call them to find out the details or visit their website.
Contact
Address: 113, 1st Floor, Kartik Complex New Link Road, Andheri (W) 400053 Mumbai      
Phone: 91-22-26302552, 91-22-26730510, 26730511, 26730513
http://www.cintaa.net/home


I would recommend and prefer artist card issued by Strong Political Unions in Mumbai, which in my opinion, cannot be refused by any casting director/ production house, due to backlash by that union.

2 SHIV SENA CHTRAPAD SHAKHA

Fees: Rs. 2000 (However, check the current rate)
Contact:
G 9, Nootan Nagar Primises CHS,
Gurunanak Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai
Phone: 26557001; 26404712

3. MAHARASTRA NAVNIRMAN CHITRAPAT KARMCHARI SENA

Contact:
102, 1st Floor, Umesh Chambers, Telligali
Besides Chatwani Hall,
Andheri (East), Mumbai 400069
Phone: 65147999; 26848631
Fees: * About Rs. 5000 to Rs. 7000 (Check)

4. BJP KAMGAR MORCH CHITRAPAT UNION

Opened in 2014. The office is in Dadar (East) near Ranjeet Studio.
BJP office of in Dadar. Contact No. 24183290; 24183141; 24150462
Check with BJP Office, the address of Chitrapat Union.
BJP Website: www.mumbaibjp.org 

2. IFAA Delhi

IFAA Delhi is known in the film and entertainment industry.
They claim, the association is not interested in the larger profile, but in the best profile. The association profile is purely its member's profile and every member is directly or indirectly connected to its activities. IFAA is a leading voice for Indian culture. IFAA is a tireless advocate for Indian culture and the development of India’s audio visual industries. Our union and members lobby for regulation and government policies that protect our culture and encourage audio visual production in all genres, expanding work opportunities for Indian performers.
http://www.ifaaassociation.com/

Please Check. Conflicting reports!

3. Roddey Film Productions

D3/73, Four Bungalows, MHADA, Andheri (w), Mumbai - 400053
Phone: 022-26303215, Mobile: 9870432013 - 9022164200 (Email: roddeyfilm@gmail.com)
http://www.roddeyfilms.com/

Be Aware  of Bogus Artist Cards!

An Aspiring Actor's Unfortunate Experience:

"Anonymous22 June 2015 at 00:04

Sir I was offered a role in one tv serial by a person whose ad I saw on quicker. I sent my pics and vids via whatsapp and He said that now u send me your address proof and artist card. I sent him my combined artist association artist card but he said that the card is not valid as i have got a character role and I have to make a fcf card the cost of which is 3000 rs. Please tell me what should I do.

ReplyDelete

from: XYZ (name and details withdrawn on request)

to: kiran.aged@gmail.com

date: Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 11:48 AM

Dear Sir,

I posted a query on http://bestactoracademy.blogspot.in/2014/08/how-aspiring-actors-can-find-greedy-and.html  yesterday night as anonymous.

You asked me to send the copy of my artist card. I have attached the pics of my artist card. I transferred the money(rs 1,600) to the account of Bharat. S. Sadhwani on 2nd June 2015. I got the pics of the artist card that day itself on whatsapp but I have not received it via post although he is saying that he has sent the post. Please check whether the artist card is authentic or not.

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