The hunt for a superstar is on
NANDINI NAIR
|
In "Super Stars", SaharaOne tries to identify the X-factor, the magic that makes a superstar of an actor.
|
Kishore Namit Kapoor, who short-listed the contestants for "Super Stars" along with director Yule Kurup, says they are not looking for clones.
THE UMPIRES Urmila Matondkar and Shiamak Davar
SaharaOne Television is all ready to cash in on dreams. The channel is soon to launch "Super Stars", a reality show that identifies not an actor or a singer or a dancer, but a superstar. One hundred twenty contestants have been short-listed from auditions held in Ludhiana, Delhi, Kolkata, Bhopal, Mumbai and Lucknow. The jury will consist of actress Urmila Matondkar, choreographer Shiamak Dawar, Kishore Namit Kapoor of "Kapoor Acting Lab", designer Anna Singh and guest directors and actors. Viewers will also vote via sms.
Ten contestants each have been chosen for the 12 different categories. The categories are Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan. For women, the categories are Rani Mukerji, Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Preity Zinta, Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. The winner will clinch a SaharaOne movie deal and a crore of rupees.
When the show launches, 10 contestants will try to convince a studio audience and television viewers that they are more than Amitabh Bachchan.
Currently, in Mumbai, the 10 short-listed Amitabh Bachchans are training with Kishore Namit Kapoor and Shiamak. They are being trained in acting, voice modulation and grooming.
Kapoor, who short-listed the contestants, along with director Yule Kurup, asserts repeatedly, "We are not looking for clones." He clarifies, "Suppose we give you the scene, background, blocking, we want to see how you interpret the character." The actors are just used as parameters, "We don't want the contestants to duplicate or mimic AB. We want them to duplicate the talent."
"Actors are born," Kapoor believes, but he also affirms, "Actors also need skill and technique." Today when every moment costs money in the film world, trial and error methods are unfeasible. Actors have to deliver at the clap of a box and cannot wait for inspiration. To deliver the goods, actors need to be trained. Smiling broadly he says, "I will be a liar if I say I can teach. I can only train. I can only give concepts and techniques which people can work on."
Shiamak says the show provides a much-needed platform for aspirants. By teaching them "deportment" he feels, "The contestants should not act. They should be. They have to `be' the character."
Different roads
The contestants chosen for the Amitabh Bachchan category come from myriad milieus and have varied interests. Some like Prakash Sudarshan are qualified in Bharatanatyam and kickboxing. With a chiselled face and burly figure he says, "Bruce Lee is my inspiration, he has trained the likes of Ajay Devgan and Bobby Deol." There are others like Swapnil Ramteke. He has travelled from Warthi near Nagpur, where he used to paint signboards for a living. Endowed with a kind face, he says he used to watch Amitabh movies on his neighbour's television. His friends who have given him the fare money to travel for the auditions are cheering for his success.
All the contestants seem to share a healthy rapport as they assert, "At the end there will only be one winner, but we would have all moved ahead."
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
