c
Author: Rajiv Magan
One of the classic case of self learning is 80s and 90s hit actor Jackie Shroff. He came from a very humble background and dropped out of college early. He started working in a travel company called ”Trade Wings” in Mumbai, before that he was rejected for a flight attendant position. He got a chance to model and became a well known model, when he was spotted by famous actor, director and producer Dev Anand. He was offered a side kick role. He was soon noticed by noted director & producer Subhash Ghai who launched him as the main lead in the film ”Hero”. The film was a big hit. Jackie continued the good work in many films in the 90s churning out hits. His roles varied in each films but he managed to give a powerful performances in each role. After 2000 he settled for character roles. According to him he practically learned acting on the job. He said he listened to his seniors and discussed with his peers. Learning English was also important for him and he said he watched a lot of Holly wood films to learn it. He was a big fan of western movie star Clint Eastwood and watched many movies to improve his English. Jackie proved to the world if somebody has the willingness to learn then he cannot be bogged by any drawback. Jackie Shroff is a true icon of a self learned and self trained person.
We often say that such an such person is successful and he is a self made man. However we fail to realize the fact that such persons are often self trained and have also indulged in self learning to learn their chosen trade or profession. Lets take the examples of a some Bollywood personalities who spent time to self learn and retrain themselves. Om Puri was a student of prestigious film institutes like N.S.D. & F.T.I. He soon became an accomplished actor and delivered powerful performances in the beginning of his career in films like Akrosh, Arohan and Ardhya Satya. His performance in Gandhi film was noticed by British film personalities and he worked in many films and serials, which were also nominated for awards. According to his own admission his achilles heels was English language.He had studied in vernacular medium(Punjabi),so It was difficult for him to study in English when he first joined the National School Of Drama. He was about to give up, but was persuaded by his teacher to read newspapers & books and listen to English news. He soon started reading English literature and practiced the language enough to become confident. He worked in a no of British and Hollywood films. His role in the movie East is East was appreciated by a large section of the audience and the film won a Bafta award. He was also made an officer of the Order of the British Empire by Britain for his contribution to British Cinema. Om Puri did not let his handicap of English become an obstacle in his life and was thus able to work in the Indian and western genres of cinema. He joined a rare group of Indian actors like Shashi Kapoor& Irfan Khan who made a name for themselves in both cinemas. His passion to succeed in his chosen career helped him to overcome a major language drawback largely by his own effort.
About the Author
