We share a tête-à-tête with Rohit Taneja the Director of Operations at the Roshan Taneja School of Acting set up by the legendary acting guru and the pioneer of method acting – Roshan Taneja – for helping students shine in the entertainment industry. It was somewhere around 2008, a time when the industry was undergoing a change, and the institute needed a revamp. Rohit was working as a freelance director primarily doing TV shows. “At that time I felt that my father, who was quite adept at handling things on his own, needed the help. That’s where I stepped in and I put my own career aside to take this forward.It has been a labour of his love and a legacy which required nurturing. God has been kind, we have been able to stay contemporarily relevant and offer the best quality of training acknowledged by youngsters even today”, said Rohit.
Not everyone may be cut out for a career in the entertainment industry. According to Rohit, a passion for the craft and perseverance are the two most important prerequisites that an actor much have. He says, “Today’s cut-throat competition and a limited number of opportunities despite the industry’s growth, peer pressure and so many other factors have limited patience in today’s youth. But whoever does persevere and invest years of their time in the industry waiting for that elusive break takes a little while”. The urge to have a size zero figure, or six packs is what also limits actors today. To Rohit, the audience may identify more with your flaws than with a squeaky clean image on-screen. “Not every role you do will require you to carry off a chiseled look. In fact, flaws are better, flaws make you unique which help you make a stamp of your own. The flaws that may seem like ‘flaws’ to you, may become attributes and qualities for an audience. You never know what an audience likes or dislikes in a particular actor”, says Rohit.
What makes the Roshan Taneja School of Acting stand out are the course content and faculty, which are the two fundamental pillars in any training environment that makes a school stand out. “I can tell you with a lot of conviction and responsibility, that our faculty and course content have been acknowledged as one of the best in the industry”, exclaims Rohit. Their course content has been a result of the last 50 years of R & D, so it’s a mix of older and contemporary material. Like any art form, it has to be a blend of two worlds. “The Youth relates to something that it contemporary, but that doesn’t mean they should be completely devoid of something that is happened in the past, or have access to material from the past. This adds dimension to his / her ability as a performer”, he says.
His claim certainly lives up to the extensive list of notable alumni that the school has produced. “Our Alumni list is so elaborate, that people sometimes think it has been made up!”, says Rohit. But he guarantees that the list is in no way forged or enhanced as a marketing tool. For someone to become a household name, it takes a decade in the entertainment industry. Whether here or in the West. According to Rohit, having connections in the industry beforehand does have its perks when it comes to visibility and mileage. But for an outsider, it does take time. For each batch, within 4-6 months of course completion, students do get roles that sustain them financially, which the school definitely helps them choose.
We asked Rohit what according to him makes a successful actor, the role commerce plays in the success of a film and key factors in choosing a script, and here’s what he has to say
