Anupam Kher: Anyone who can lie can act

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, who runs his acting school Actor Prepares,
doesn't believe in the "born actor" theory.
He feels that some are gifted, but others
can cultivate the craft of acting.

"Anyone who can lie can act... this is my
theory. Lying is a form of acting. It is a
method of convincing yourself. The whole
thing about born actors is rubbish," he said
at the acting workshop - 100 years of
Indian cinema: An actor Prepares, which was organised as part of ongoing 14th
International Indian Film Academy (IIFA)
awards and weekend.

The actor conducted a detailed two-hour
theatre workshop and spoke about how to
cultivate acting skills.

The #Saaransh actor said that the first lesson for an actor is that
"he should be
ready to make a fool of himself".

Talking about over-acting, Anupam said:
"Actors think if they will do normal acting,
then people won't be convinced... this is
why they over-act.

He added that Bollywood is known for
over the top acting. "Bollywood has been accused of loud
acting. People in the West, including NRIs,
feel that the Indian cinema is all about
dancing and singing. This is tough as you
are trying to do something so unreal, so
convincingly on the screen," he said.

However, he feels the period after 2000
has been "the golden era" for the industry
as well as the actors. "The kind of cinema and movies, which
are coming out now, are different and
they manage to do fantastic business,"
said Anupam who also shared anecdotes
from his childhood and memories of his
first play.