Bringing true talent to screens big and small
Roopesh Rai Sikand is an accomplished filmmaker and film academician. He heads the Sai Gurukul Academy, which is among the leading acting workshops in India. The academy has groomed some of the finest acting talents in the Indian Film and television industry today.
Sai Gurukul Academy envisions nurturing and transforming aspiring and zealous minds into real professionals ready-to-absorb talents who will become an automatic need for the industry through offering modular courses in acting, direction, cinematography, video editing, music sequencing, voice culture and training, etc.
“At Sai Gurukul Academy for performing Arts, we understand the language of the industry, so our students have much reduced chances of encountering challenges like presentation, understanding industry jargon, making industry contacts, compiling database of production houses, contract negotiations, etc. as they are already being groomed and equipped for that during the course duration,” says Mr Sikand, who is currently visiting New Zealand.
Indian Weekender met up with him for an interview
What is the purpose of your visit to New Zealand?
I have been invited as a Jury Member for a contest here in New Zealand. At the same time I also intend to discuss about my new film with eminent people associated with Film Making.
You have been a talent spotter in India, one of the biggest showbiz markets in the world… What does it take for talented people to find a platform or get into the spotlight so they can be discovered?
I can only say that if one has the fire to achieve their goal, then only they can be further trained or groomed in the field of their choice, and cinema is no exception to it. I mean, despite having talent, there are so many people who have the fear of exhibiting the same. And as everyone knows, unless you show your talent to the world, no one will even notice it. At the end of the day, you have to convince your superiors that you have the X Factor.
What is the role of training? Are people born performers or performers can be made by trainers like you and schools like the one you run?
Now, that’s our job. A student may think that they are good or excellent in some aspect of cinema but in order to make them excel in all the related fields of cinema, they require a rigorous training programme. We guarantee that our students will succeed in becoming an outstanding performer.
Do young Indian New Zealanders have a chance of making a breakthrough in the severely competitive world of Bollywood?
Why not? It is the world of Experimental Cinema today. As far as competition is concerned, it is very difficult to challenge a well-equipped soldier. So if the students are really interested to make it to Bollywood, they should start their training as early as possible and open their gateway of success in a very short span of time.
Do you think in the near future there will be a market in India for Indian themed films made in foreign countries like New Zealand?
In business it is always the cost-benefit ratio that matters and it is vice-versa. Today people are exploring Indian markets for simple reasons like cost effectiveness, market size, etc. At the same time Film Makers of India certainly keep exploring new avenues to get their cinema an International Feel. You never know if New Zealand is able to cater to the Indian market on any of the required grounds, it will certainly bring the two countries at the same platform.
Would you be interested in such projects if they were initiated in NZ or Australia?
Of course, yes. It will always be a mutual development programme and I will feel privileged to be associated with it.
How can India and New Zealand and India and Fiji collaborate in future film production other than location shooting (which has been already happening now)?
Well, this seems to be more of a political question rather than being a general one. Anyway, it can always be a kind of barter system – a system that mutually benefits both the countries.
New Zealand has been known for special effects like those seen in Avatar and Lord of the Rings and of course the Hobbit movies. Can Bollywood work together with NZ studios? If yes, what are the challenges?
Everyone knows that Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), New Zealand, was called in late in the 'Avatar' development process to help finish a series of the movie's shots. And that was a last moment effort to save the makers of the film. All the computer generated imagery (CGI) was been handed over from Weta Digital to ILM.?And this can happen only if they (the makers) would have noticed some strengths in ILM. So, we also understand that there are lots of areas in which New Zealand is much ahead of Bollywood. As far as the association of Bollywood with New Zealand Studios is concerned, I can only say that there can be various channels through which we can work together. I don’t foresee any great challenges in future as both of us have individual strengths and weaknesses. Our mutual strengths can prove to be helpful in eradicating all the weaknesses, whatsoever and bring us under the same umbrella.
Any suggestions for more interaction between the countries?
There should be periodic events and exchange programmes which provides opportunities for the students to learn the latest trends and requirements of Indian as well as International Cinema.
Roopesh Rai Sikand is an accomplished filmmaker and film academician. He heads the Sai Gurukul Academy, which is among the leading acting workshops in India. The academy has groomed some of the finest acting talents in the Indian Film and television industry today.
Sai Gurukul Academy envisions...
Roopesh Rai Sikand is an accomplished filmmaker and film academician. He heads the Sai Gurukul Academy, which is among the leading acting workshops in India. The academy has groomed some of the finest acting talents in the Indian Film and television industry today.
Sai Gurukul Academy envisions nurturing and transforming aspiring and zealous minds into real professionals ready-to-absorb talents who will become an automatic need for the industry through offering modular courses in acting, direction, cinematography, video editing, music sequencing, voice culture and training, etc.
“At Sai Gurukul Academy for performing Arts, we understand the language of the industry, so our students have much reduced chances of encountering challenges like presentation, understanding industry jargon, making industry contacts, compiling database of production houses, contract negotiations, etc. as they are already being groomed and equipped for that during the course duration,” says Mr Sikand, who is currently visiting New Zealand.
Indian Weekender met up with him for an interview
What is the purpose of your visit to New Zealand?
I have been invited as a Jury Member for a contest here in New Zealand. At the same time I also intend to discuss about my new film with eminent people associated with Film Making.
You have been a talent spotter in India, one of the biggest showbiz markets in the world… What does it take for talented people to find a platform or get into the spotlight so they can be discovered?
I can only say that if one has the fire to achieve their goal, then only they can be further trained or groomed in the field of their choice, and cinema is no exception to it. I mean, despite having talent, there are so many people who have the fear of exhibiting the same. And as everyone knows, unless you show your talent to the world, no one will even notice it. At the end of the day, you have to convince your superiors that you have the X Factor.
What is the role of training? Are people born performers or performers can be made by trainers like you and schools like the one you run?
Now, that’s our job. A student may think that they are good or excellent in some aspect of cinema but in order to make them excel in all the related fields of cinema, they require a rigorous training programme. We guarantee that our students will succeed in becoming an outstanding performer.
Do young Indian New Zealanders have a chance of making a breakthrough in the severely competitive world of Bollywood?
Why not? It is the world of Experimental Cinema today. As far as competition is concerned, it is very difficult to challenge a well-equipped soldier. So if the students are really interested to make it to Bollywood, they should start their training as early as possible and open their gateway of success in a very short span of time.
Do you think in the near future there will be a market in India for Indian themed films made in foreign countries like New Zealand?
In business it is always the cost-benefit ratio that matters and it is vice-versa. Today people are exploring Indian markets for simple reasons like cost effectiveness, market size, etc. At the same time Film Makers of India certainly keep exploring new avenues to get their cinema an International Feel. You never know if New Zealand is able to cater to the Indian market on any of the required grounds, it will certainly bring the two countries at the same platform.
Would you be interested in such projects if they were initiated in NZ or Australia?
Of course, yes. It will always be a mutual development programme and I will feel privileged to be associated with it.
How can India and New Zealand and India and Fiji collaborate in future film production other than location shooting (which has been already happening now)?
Well, this seems to be more of a political question rather than being a general one. Anyway, it can always be a kind of barter system – a system that mutually benefits both the countries.
New Zealand has been known for special effects like those seen in Avatar and Lord of the Rings and of course the Hobbit movies. Can Bollywood work together with NZ studios? If yes, what are the challenges?
Everyone knows that Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), New Zealand, was called in late in the 'Avatar' development process to help finish a series of the movie's shots. And that was a last moment effort to save the makers of the film. All the computer generated imagery (CGI) was been handed over from Weta Digital to ILM.?And this can happen only if they (the makers) would have noticed some strengths in ILM. So, we also understand that there are lots of areas in which New Zealand is much ahead of Bollywood. As far as the association of Bollywood with New Zealand Studios is concerned, I can only say that there can be various channels through which we can work together. I don’t foresee any great challenges in future as both of us have individual strengths and weaknesses. Our mutual strengths can prove to be helpful in eradicating all the weaknesses, whatsoever and bring us under the same umbrella.
Any suggestions for more interaction between the countries?
There should be periodic events and exchange programmes which provides opportunities for the students to learn the latest trends and requirements of Indian as well as International Cinema.
Leave a Comment