Indore: Join the theatre if you want to become actors, says Rakesh Bedi

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Acting is not as easy as it sounds, as one has to pay attention to many things at the same time, said well-known actor-comedian Rakesh Bedi, who was holding an acting workshop at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, DAVV on Thursday. 

While on stage a performer has to take care of acting, the dress, the gestures, the lines, the cues etc. He has to act not only with his voice but with hand gestures, and eye movements also, Bedi said. 

“When you are on the other side of the stage, there are only two eyes you are watching, but when you are on the stage, there are 500 eyes on you,” he said. 

Bedi told the students that if they wanted to be actors then they should join the theatre as they would understand the small nuances of acting there. “The theatre is the first step in acting, so you must join it,” Bedi said.

He advised students to be observant and do things wholeheartedly. “If you do something half-heartedly, then your dreams will remain incomplete,” Bedi said.

Narrating his life story, Bedi said, “I do not remember when I decided to be an actor, but I did not even think of becoming anything else in my life. My father used to work for Indian Airlines, but flying in the sky was not my cup of tea, though working on the ground was a possibility. However, performing drama and theatre had been my forte from the beginning. I gave the entrance exam for Coal Mining Engineering College but I tried half-heartedly and I understood that I have come on the wrong track.”

Remembering Om Puri

Bedi said that one should enjoy each stage in one’s life. During his hostel days, he only got Rs 300 as monthly expenses from home. On one of his birthdays, Om Puri came with eight cupcakes worth Rs 25 (a handsome amount in those days) and incense sticks of Rs 2, for the party. “I got emotional from the gifts, and it was the best party of my life,” Bedi said.