SHAH INITIATES THEIR FUTURE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

development of histrionic talents. The school is run by noted theatre veteran and popular South Indian film star Murali.

The school conducts training courses in music, drama and dance. Apart from Dubai, the school has a branch in Abu Dhabi.

In an informal chat with the students of Koothambalam, Shah said that actors today are typecast. It comes to a level when an 'angry young man' can never get to play the role of a beggar, he said.

Shah said that acting is an inborn talent within every human being, and that it is the only profession that grows with age. By joining an acting school, one becomes a better actor faster, the actor said.

'Anybody can become an actor. One need not look handsome or be beautiful to become an actor,' Shah told the inquisitive students of Koothambalam - the youngest of whom was a six-year-old, and the oldest fifty-seven.

Shah told the students that actors of today are overpaid for the amount of work they do. He informed the students that there are a lot of backstage people in cinema and theatre whose job goes unrecognised, and are an ignored lot. 'They (technicians) work much harder than the actors but are not paid well enough,' he said.

Earlier in the day, noted Malayalam film personality Balachandra Menon also visited Koothambalam and shared his thoughts on direction and acting with the students.

'There are two kinds of actors. One, the director's actor - an actor who acts as and how the director has ordered. Secondly, there are natural actors, for whom acting comes with or without the director being at the spot,' Menon said.

Menon said that it is very important for a director to be a keen observer.

More details on the two-month period vacation courses can be had on 04-2273153