Actress Tisca Chopa was born into a Punjabi family of educationists, but a career in academics were not for her. Tisca chose theatre instead, and not without reason or precedent. The very school where her parents taught were one day caught in a bind — they couldn't find anyone to enact the role of little Krishna for a play. It was left to the two-year-old Tisca to salvage the situation. Theatre (officially) happened soon after college, and she moved on subsequently to cinema and television. Her debut film Platform (1993) vanished without a trace, and critical acclaim came only in 2007 with Taare Zameen Par. Her performances in Satya Dev Dubey's Inshah Allah and Feroz Abbas Khan's rendition of the Pulitzer-winning play Dinner With Friends received rave reviews. Life has now turned a full circle — she's into books now. She has penned Acting Smart: Your Ticket to Showbiz, a seamless integration of anecdotes and experiences. The book's Bangalore launch is scheduled for Friday. Meanwhile, a little known fact about Tisca: she's the grand-niece of Khushwant Singh. Excerpts from a tête-à-tête with Tisca Chopra:
You are going to be asked this question every time, and this one isn't going to be an exception: what makes you qualified to write such a book?
I quote Scott Adams: 'Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.' I made a book out of my mistakes, and those that most actors are likely to make. I also included experiences of the many fabulous actors that I have had the privilege to work with. So the book can be a fun read for film buffs as well. Especially. the chapter on the casting couch.
We all learn from experience; so did you. But then experiences are more often than not unique in themselves. How do you think any aspirant might benefit from your experiences?
I guess I did learn from my mistakes, but knowing me, I will make new and unusual ones with regularity. It's just that now I don’t get into a flap. I dust my pants and get up and walk on. The book, of course, is a collection of anecdotes and experiences of many actors like Anil Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani and also several great directors like Raju Hirani, Prakash Jha, Imtiaz Ali and the late Yash Chopra. These might be illuminating for aspiring actors and also film buffs who might want to know what really, truly happens at film shoots.
There is always a trigger for wanting to write a book; be it an incident or an experience, or a life-long desire, or maybe a motivation somewhere. What was yours?
My family has many writers and I’ve always written as a sort of catharsis. But frankly, I see the confusion that exists among young actors about how to proceed while conducting their business. Since I have access to some real good actors and how they function - I guess that’s my trigger. How else would anyone know the stories of the inner workings of people like Boman or Aamir or Shabana Azmi?
You have moved around a lot -- from theatre to cinema to television. How does this book fit into your oeuvre? Is it about communication? Or is it about expression?
It's the age of multi-tasking. Actors are producing, writers are directing, directors are acting, and so on. I wrote the book mostly on sets while they were busy setting up shots. I can write, so I wrote. A publisher showed interest in publishing it and some people are actually buying the book. So far so good.
Your grand-uncle was arguably India's best-known writers. Did you get the chance to discuss your book with him? Were you under any kind of pressure when you were working on it?
No, unfortunately, I did not. However, he did say to me that he felt I must write at some point. I hope he is happy. I felt no pressure, since there are no expectations of me as a writer. Unless of course you count the tremendous pressure my literary agent / editor put me under. They wanted me to finish the book two years ago. Not that I gave in to that pressure. I wrote a few select words each day, till I was well and truly done.
