Audition Room

M R Casting

How to crack auditions in Bollywood

Manoj Ramola

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Audition Room

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Audition Room

Manoj Ramola

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EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)

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About The Author

Manoj Ramola is working as a professional casting

director in the Indian Film Industry for last few

years. He hails from a small village in Uttarakhand

and comes from an Army background. He

graduated from Nainital, Uttarakhand.

Right from childhood, Manoj was highly

fascinated towards the Entertainment Industry.

After moving to Mumbai to fulfill his dreams,

Manoj went through a turmoil phase in his life. But

he overcame every obstacle with his tenacity and

determination.

Since then he has worked on many

television series. He also has done dozens of

advertisements featuring brands including Marvel

Tea, Microtek, Markwin, Skipper, Kesh King etc.

He has been associated with production

houses including STAR TV, Disney Channel, UTV

Bindass, Endemol, Beyond Dreams, Dancing

Waters Productions, Rowdy Rascals, set rite ads, 24

Frames Media, Namanraj Production etc. He is

currently working on couple of films.

Driven by high energy levels and technical

competence, Manoj‟s work as a casting director so

far has been a fusion of strong initiatives and

commitment to excellence. It is coupled with

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demonstrated experience and exposure, ideal for

being a casting director.

With his initiative „Audition Room‟, Manoj

has certainly opened a new path for the actors, who

strive to enter the film industry but lack proper

guidance. The book will surely work towards

reducing the existing communication gap between

an actor and a casting director, which will add to the

value of both the professions.

Best thing that I learned about the author, in

course of discussion, is his willingness to learn new

things all the time. He always looks to push the

envelope and passionate about good projects and

can go to great lengths to achieve his artistic goals.

- Amit Pandey

(Editor)

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Preface

I have been working as a casting director for six

years. I have gone through various aspects of the

casting profession that helped me to analyze the

core of casting process and auditions, which are

often overlooked by the actors. Working as casting

director in the Indian Film industry, I observed that

most of the actors are not able to differentiate

between acting and auditioning skills. I have often

seen better actors, giving bad auditions and at the

same time average actors, with better auditioning

skills, usually landing up the role. Mastering

audition technique is a combination of

understanding casting director‟s point of view and

observing what actually happens inside the audition

room.

“Audition Room” is a book about casting

process and auditioning techniques from point of

view of an Indian casting director. This book does

not teach acting skills, but it will help you prepare

for a good audition and how to get noticed in the

Indian Film Industry. It will provide you in-depth

perspective about casting in Films, Television

Serials and Advertisements in Bollywood. There is

a huge information asymmetry between

professional acting aspirants and reality of the

entertainment Industry. Such information

asymmetry often results in frauds and exploitations.

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Misunderstanding about casting and auditioning

process often deprives a good actor from a great

role. This book provides right information and

proper knowledge, not only about frauds but also

about casting and auditioning process. This book

explains how to improve your audition skills,

making sure that good actors will not be deprived of

great roles.

Also many times actors ask innocent

question during casting process. Due to hectic

schedule, it is not always possible to answer their

queries. I have tried to cover everything about

casting and auditioning in this book. In this book, I

have not only addressed the issues of newcomers

but also relatively experienced actors. In the initial

part of the book, I have laid emphasis on explaining

the whole perspective about professional acting,

keeping in mind new comers or dreamers. Once you

will come to know about the basics of professional

acting, it will be easy for you to grasp advance

concepts of auditioning. In addition to that, you will

learn the core structure of Film, Television and

Advertisement industry, which will help you build

an insight about giving better audition.

The next part of the book focuses on

understanding the mindset of a casting director. My

idea behind this part is to make the actors

understand about mindset of casting directors and

their modus operandi. It will help you understand

the casting process better, give a better audition and

ultimately increasing your chances of success.

Moreover, this also reduces the efforts of a casting

director.

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Once you understand basics of professional

acting and the mindset of casting director, you are

ready to deal with most important part of casting

process, which is Art of Auditioning. This part

covers the basic as well as advanced concepts of

auditioning.

In the final stage of the book, you will

familiarize yourself with networking and building a

strong profile. It will help you immensely

increasing your chances of getting a dream role.

I hope this book will be helpful to you.

Please do not read it as bedtime story book; it is

supposed to be a textbook for amateur and

professional actors alike.

- Manoj Ramola

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Acknowledgement

Audition room is a dream that I saw few years back.

The book would not have been possible without the

support and encouragement of my family and dear

friends, who made me believe in my dreams.

First, I am very thankful to my Family for

encouraging me, especially when I felt heavy and

tired and was about to surrender to the

circumstances.

I am extremely grateful to my beloved wife

„Moni Ramola”. Without her support, the book

“Audition Room” could not have been possible. I

thank her for all support, encouragement, all her

patience and endurance, in course of writing the

book.

I am also thankful to my friend „Chhatrapal‟,

who supported me in every possible way to

complete the book. I thank him for his sincere

efforts and giving his valuable time for making my

dream come true.

I am also thankful to my friend „Amit

Kumar Pandey‟, who is editor of the book and

helped me to articulate my thoughts into words.

I am also very thankful to my team, Casting

associates and the actors who allowed me to share

their stories in the book and in a way helped me to

justify the concept of “Audition Room.”

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At last, I would like to thank my fellow

casting directors, who shared their experiences and

feedback.

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Content List

S.no Chapter Page

1. CHAPTER ONE: A DREAM

OF BIG SCREEN 01

Some Basic Questions? 11

Why Acting? 12

What is your definition

of Good Acting? 15

Believability 16

Skills 17

Acting School 20

Industry 22

Film 22

Television 30

Advertisement 31

Never pay for an audition 32

Are you ready for Acting

Profession? 32

Surviving in Mumbai 36

Money 36

Accommodation 37

Travel 38

Food 39

Cloths 40

Health 40

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Job 41

Portfolios 42

CINTAA 43

First Year 44

2. CHAPTER TWO: CASTING 45

Casting Process 50

Audition of Casting

Director 50

Character Breakdown 52

Mindset of casting

director 53

Suitability 55

Auditions 56

Normal Auditions 56

General Auditions 57

Finalizing the roles 58

Casting in different medium 58

Films 58

Television 59

Advertisements 60

Short Films 61

Wishes and Abuses

62

3. CHAPTER THREE:

AUDITION ROOM 65

Zero preparation time 70

Preparing for Audition 73

First Impression 73

Wardrobe 73

Winning Mentality 74

Belief 74

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Follow Etiquettes 76

Self-Awareness 77

Understanding the

Material 78

Be Original 80

Don‟t show your

contacts 81

Auditioning 83

Intro 83

Fear of Camera 83

Property 85

Movement 85

Eye contact and Gaze 93

Follow up

99

4. CHAPTER FOUR: THE BIG

BREAK 103

What is your ambition? 107

How you want to achieve your

ambition 108

Staying Power 109

Peer pressure 110

Waiting Time 111

Prioritize Time 112

Follow Routine 113

Building Profile 113

Indie Films 115

Short Films 116

Theater 117

Display your work 118

Increasing Network 119

Offline Networking 121

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Continuous Improvement 124

Observation skills 124

No 125

Never giving up

126

5. Appendix One: Beyond

Bollywood 129

6. List of Movie Productions 135

7. List of TV Productions 149

To Reach Author 159

Some Important Addresses 160

Register Your Book 161

Audition Room

1

CHAPTER 1

A DREAM OF BIG

SCREEN

Manoj Ramola

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It was huge stage where many people were sitting in

an open Pavilion. Ravi Kumar, wearing wardrobe of

mythical character of Ram, was performing on the

stage. Crowd was appreciating his dialogues, his

poise and movements. With his acting skills and his

characterization of Lord Ram, he owned the stage

of the Ramleela, performed annually in his

hometown. Ravi Kumar was star of his town.

Parents were very proud of their talented son. Many

relatives and neighbors predicted a great future for

Ravi, as he was young, dynamic and hopeful.

Acting was his passion; it gave his life meaning.

He used to do lots of theatre in and around his

hometown. One fine day one of his fans suggested

him to try his luck in professional acting. Ravi was

initially reluctant. He grew up watching Bollywood

films; it was his childhood dream to become part of

it. However, he was scared to go in the wilderness

of Bollywood. He had neither any contact nor he

knew anyone in Mumbai. He continued doing

theatre. With more appreciation and accolades, his

Audition Room

3

desire to try luck in Bollywood grew stronger with

time. He gathered courage and decided to give

himself at least a year. Ravi convinced his parents

and packed the bag of his dreams. He boarded train

to Bollywood with desire to conquer the world of

professional acting.

It was crowded Mumbai Central station.

Ravi got down from the train and saw huge ocean of

crowd. It was a scary sight. First time Ravi

observed so many people, who were busy with their

own stuff. He then walked into local railway station.

Crowd was now even bigger. Local trains were

coming packed with people. Before he could

understand anything, he was suddenly pushed inside

a local train. Few passengers got angry with him,

because he was carrying luggage inside normal

local coach. However, Ravi kept his calm and

composure; he was getting some idea about the

pressure he was going to face afterwards. He could

barely move his hand, even to wipe off his sweat.

He had a long lost school friend living in

Nalasopara, who arranged stay at his place. After

few hours of search, he found the place. It was

small room shared by five people, just big enough

to sleep.

Next day, Ravi asked his friend, who was a

waiter in a nearby bar, about hunting an acting job.

His friend was clueless. He told him he should go to

Andheri and find out about it. Ravi went to

Andheri, again drifting through crowded local and

sailing through a sea of people. After few days of

wandering and roaming in and around Andheri,

Ravi saw a huge building of a popular TV channel.

Manoj Ramola

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He was excited and got down at the next bus stop.

He rushed towards the building. When he was just

inches away from his dream role, a guard stopped

him. The security guard asked him if he had any

appointments. Ravi replied that he was an actor and

looking for work. Guard laughed and told him that

it was his duty to keep people like him, away. Every

day, many actors like Ravi knock the gates but no

one can pass through until they have contacts.

Ravi was disappointed and walked back to

the bus station. He tried his luck in various

production houses and TV channels, but he could

hardly pass through the gate. Days were passing

away, he was only left with some money and more

worries.

Suddenly, one fine day he saw a ray of hope,

a signboard near Andheri station. Many a times he

passed by the signboard, but never read it carefully.

It was call for an audition. Somebody was looking

for actors and Ravi was looking for work. The

signboard guaranteed work for talented actors and

Ravi was extremely talented one. He took the

number and called the person from nearest PCO.

The person scheduled his audition next day and

Ravi carefully noted down the address. Ravi could

not sleep entire night. He kept dreaming and

sometimes rehearsing some of his best

performances.

Audition Room

5

Next day, he went to an office in four bungalows

for audition. It was a lavish office with lots of other

actors sitting in the premises. A middle-aged

woman asked him to register himself for the

audition and asked her for Rs. 1000 as registration

charge.

Ravi had exactly same amount left with him,

but he did not think twice about paying the money.

Afterall it was an opportunity for him. He thought

of luck, how when everything was finished, he got

the chance. He was now more bullish and confident.

He filled the form. He was been asked to wait in the

lobby for his turn and finally after waiting hours he

was called for audition. This was the first time he

was facing camera and was obviously scared, which

resulted in many mistakes. However, the man

behind camera was patient and asked him to

perform again. After a couple of takes, Ravi gave a

great audition. Everybody in the audition room

Manoj Ramola

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clapped for him. It was enriching experience and he

felt good. Lady told him that they would inform him

soon. She predicted a great future for him in

Cinema.

Ravi was nervous for few days, which left

him isolated as he packed himself in his room. He

was desperately waiting for the call and finally one

fine day he received a call, confirming his selection.

He was so overwhelmed with joy; he immediately

threw a party for his roommates.

Next day, Ravi reached the office; Lady

congratulated him for the selection. Next moment

he was quite surprised as she asked him to deposit

Rs. 25,000. She told him the money was necessary

for his portfolio. Ravi was quite shocked with this

sudden demand and told the lady that he didn’t have

any money. The woman offered nothing but only

sympathy for Ravi. Ravi was shocked and

heartbroken as things ran out suddenly. However,

the woman told Ravi that she would wait for him.

According to her, he was an exceptional talent she

has seen after Shah Rukh Khan.

Ravi was hopeless, reached his room, and

discussed his problem with his friends. They could

arrange only eight thousand rupees. Still seventeen

thousand was short. Ravi left with no other option

and decided to ask his father for the remaining

money. Though his father’s monthly income was

only ten thousand rupees but he somehow managed

to send him the entire twenty five thousand. Ravi

now felt little relaxed and rushed to the office to

Audition Room

7

submit the fee. After Ravi deposited the amount, a

photo shoot was arranged next day.

Ravi gave his best poses for his portfolio

and after few days, the portfolio was ready. The

Lady told Ravi that she will send his portfolio to a

client, who is a film director and then he will

receive his call in couple of days. This made Ravi

happier and started dreaming about his role in the

film. After waiting for some day, he called the lady

and asked about the progress but she told him to

wait for some more days. Ravi waited patiently and

called her again after some days. This time he got

some real good news. He was selected for the lead

role in a Hindi film. Ravi was jubilant and

immediately rushed to the office to meet the lady.

She again asked him to wait for few more days as

the director was shooting out of India. She also

convinced him the director would personally meet

him once he returns.

Ravi felt no issues waiting for few more

days as his dream was about to come true. But his

patience started diminishing soon. It was more than

a month since his photo shoot, but the lady asked

him to wait for few more days. Now, it became

frustrating for Ravi and he again called the woman

but this time she did not respond. He kept calling

her for few more days but received no response.

After some days, her phone became unreachable. It

was literally shocking for Ravi and he reached her

office immediately but surprisingly found the office

locked.

Manoj Ramola

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When he made inquiry about them, he came

to know that the office was closed since last ten

days. Ravi understood that he was duped and

without wasting time, he went to the nearest police

station. Initially police officer did not even care to

entertain him. He told him that there are many fools

like him who are duped every day. He asked Ravi to

pack his bag and go to his native place. Still Ravi

pursued with his complaint. The cop was irritated.

He could not do anything because on his paid

receipt, money was charged for his portfolio and not

for assuring a role in films.

Ravi had now no idea what to do next and

where to go. He was so nervous and frightened that

he did not even dare to answer his father’s phone

call. He even could not share anything to his

roommates about the incident. He was so depressed

that he could not even face anyone. There was

hardly any money left with him. He could not even

afford to buy a return ticket to home. Later, one of

his roommates managed to get him job as cleaner in

a nearby hotel. Ravi even today cleans the dishes in

that hotel. His dream of ruling the big screen is

washed everyday along with dirty plates.

There are many people like Ravi Kumar,

who had dreamt of big screen. Many like him come

to Mumbai daily, following their dream. It is

glamour of big screen, which attracts young girls,

boys from all over the India and in order to chase

their dream to enter Bollywood, many of them fall

in the trap of fraud auditions. They need to

understand that, Film Industry is unique world, very

different from the ordinary one.

Audition Room

9

New actors come to Mumbai with big dreams to

become actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh

Khan, Kareena Kapoor or Priyanka Chopra and

think that they will rule the world once given

chance. It is not deniable that actors who come here

to make their career are vibrant and capable enough

to prove themselves. However, in hurry to complete

their race to the silver screen, they unknowingly

take some wrong steps, which completely ruin their

career even before it takes off.

I really feel pity on those actors, who do not

understand the illusions of the industry and get

trapped by the frauds leaving no way out for them.

Ravi could not face his father yet and this is not

only the story of Ravi, but many boys and girls

come to the city with big dreams and become victim

of frauds.

Manoj Ramola

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Always remember that, you cannot become

a star by following stupid pamphlets and newspaper

advertisements that promise instant entry to the

entertainment industry. Most of these articles are

fake and published to befool the newcomers, as they

know little about the film industry.

I often come across advertisements, which

demand huge amount of money ranging from 25000

to one lakh and boast to provide big roles to the

actors. You should understand it practically that if

it would have been possible to get such direct entry

to the film industry then why do so many actors

struggle every day to grab a small role.

It is better for you to understand this thing as

early as possible before you get trapped by such

fraudulent auditions, because success cannot be

bought at any cost.

In addition to that, there are some producers

who give you excuse that the budget of the film is

quite tight and he would consider if you deposit

some amount of money. Now just think that, if a

producer is ready to produce a film, what difference

a small amount of money is going to make. These

people are just running a fraud business by playing

with actors sentiments. So, be aware of such people

and concentrate the straight way of getting into

acting with the help of your talent instead of

searching for the short cuts.

Methods of fraud will keep changing with

time. If today you come to know about some kind

of fraud, it is not assured that you will face the same

tomorrow also. The logic is quite simple, when you

Audition Room

11

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