Day 47 - 10 Ka Dum

Competition is the driving force that keeps one on one’s toes all the time. Competition is tough. In every field there is tough competition. In the profession of acting there has been tough but healthy competition right from the dawn of cinema…

Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar managed to maintain their friendship in spite of fierce competition. Rajendra Kumar and Raj kumar also maintained it with a certain dignity. For a little while there was some bitterness that entered when Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan were competitors but they managed to resolve it.

Today, young aspiring actors are very friendly when they start their careers but once they reach the pinnacle of success, insecurities begin to come in the way and take toll…

Day 46 - 10 Ka Dum

One may have a personal dislike with a co-star but one has to bury personal feelings and enact the scene in the spirit of the script. We have to get involved with the character and yet disconnect…yet manage to liberate ourselves as soon as the shot is done. At times the emotion remains as a residue and it’s not easy to shake off completely… We have to have shock absorbers and filters. It’s an art to develop emotional immunity and yet remain involved. I have not gone to any school of acting …nor have been taught on how to do it this way… I have developed my own style...and I keep learning and improving as a move ahead.

Day 45 - 10 Ka Dum

My father Salim Khan had once remarked that loneliness nurtures talent… creativity.

Art is created in loneliness and exhibited in public. Aamir khan also said once that an actor’s best period is when he has no work. What he probably meant was that such time off gives an artist, ample scope for introspection and brutal self-analysis. This is what helps an actor to grow as an artist and as a human being. We movie stars are almost always surrounded by people and usually have a very hectic schedule… Loneliness is a luxury...precious to us. Continual self-analysis is a dream. We have to steal moments of loneliness or should I say being alone…to look within. This inward journey is highly rewarding.

Our films are made amidst crowds. Even whilst shooting intimate love scenes, there is a crowd of at least hundred technicians present. Films are also exhibited amidst crowd of thousand spectators. Yet we have to project emotions, intimacy and passion in most convincing manner. But the magic of cinema they say is created in most difficult tricky conditions….