The fine art of ‘acting’ and the techniques of film making have constantly evolved and transformed beyond recognition since the beginning of motion pictures in 1888. All this is subject of research for those who study & understand the craft of film-making but as audiences become more discerning, the challenge to makers is to innovate and engage with newer themes, contemporary stories and methods of enacting the characters with realism with roles and content which offers a combo that’s entertaining, exhilarating & educating. In that sense, there is a perceptible shift from big-budget films screened in cinema halls to the OTT offerings of films and web-series of diverse genres.
As seniors we’d connect more with movies of the 1960s-70s that were often based on famous classics and works of great authors and characters that were created by them, played with the passion by renowned actors. I’d cite examples of ‘Sahib Biwi Ghulam’ (Hindi-1962) and ‘Gone With The Wind’ (English -1939) – outstanding and celebrated films of all times, among hundred others. Great actors then would follow the ‘method acting’ style as opposed to ‘natural’. For a long time, loud melodrama flourished in most films & not just in costume dramas, period films. Actors often got type-cast in certain moulds !
Recently we caught up with an old film (1966) on OTT, a super-hit for it’s foot-tapping songs, but who’s name shall remain undisclosed, for it may hurt the nostalgic connect it had with 60’s generation. However, we were a bit appalled at the contrived, over the top mannerisms of the popular lead actors, also called ‘hamming’ and what now seems like ‘overacting’ compared to the effortless, natural style we witness with many new actors. Many big stars remained trapped in their image rather than get under skin of the role !
Mature cinema buffs love natural or realistic acting as it involves an actor attempting to portray a character like a real person & not just figment of a writer’s imagination. It tries to accurately and convincingly reflect human actions and emotions and focuses on sensitive and nuanced characterization of characters, frequently drawing inspiration from real-life observations. Since cinema is a medium of the ‘Director’s’ expression, it took likes of Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Hrishikesh Mukherji, Shyam Benegal and Basu Chatterji to create films that had actors who truly became the characters…
Let’s remember that early Bollywood also produced classy actors but stylized acting was much appreciated with popular stars and ‘larger than life’ images were created for them. The 60s also saw the rise of natural actors like Balraj Sahni and Ashok Kumar (among male actors) while the 70s brought in ‘new wave cinema’ and creative genius of Shyam Benegal with actors Naseer Shah, Om Puri and a host of others. In the last decade we’ve had likes of Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkumar Rao & Pankaj Tripathi !
What’s heartening is the newest breed of actors mostly seen on OTT platforms who live the parts they play. It’s said ‘Dramatic ability is a natural gift, that can hardly be taught’ ! But trained, Yes !
Working on Living 