Dramatic opportunity

Bollywood 'star-maker' to hold acting course in Dubai

A Dubai-based drama group will bring a prominent Indian "star-maker" to the city next month to run a two-week intensive course in acting.

Pratibimb, a group with over 50 members, will bring Asha Chandra from Mumbai. Asha runs her own institute since 1982. She has been training actors and actresses, especially in Bollywood, the multi-billion rupee Hindi film industry, for decades.

Her "students" include top Indian stars such as Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Dimple Kapadia, Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar, Raj Babbar, Meenakshi Seshadri and Amrita Singh.

Asha will bring capsules of her new acting course for Dubai students. This will include acting therapies, voice modulation, video appearances and even film dance.

The course will be held for two weeks, starting September 14, at the Emirates Centre for Management and Information Technology (ECMIT), Garhoud. A session runs for three and a half hours every day, and students have a choice of morning or evening classes.

A class can take up to 35 students. The course fee is Dh750. Every student gets a certificate at the end of the course.

"We seek to encourage local dramatic talent. These classes will give professional training to interested amateurs and improve their acting skills," said Mehboob Al Hassan Rizvi, founder-president, Pratibimb.

"A lot of Hindi films are being shot in Dubai these days. Many of them use local talent in smaller roles. If you attend this course and learn about acting, you will stand a greater chance of being picked up by a Hindi film," pointed out Rashmi Panchal, another Pratibimb member.

"A lot of young people are also interested in taking up acting as a career. This course will help them to find out, for themselves and their families, if they have the potential for becoming professional actors," she added.

Pratibimb is now accepting registrations for the acting course.