I am currently hosting a chat show with famous movie personalities on a digital platform. In the course of my interactions with five major stars – two ace directors and three fantastic actors – I tried culling out unique traits that fuel their success. In the highly visible and competitive movie industry, where stars are born every Friday and few
survive to see the next decade, what makes some succeed? These five outstanding individuals have made it to the top on their own, without any support whatsoever from family or close friends within the industry. In my continued interaction with most of them through the interviews and even before that, I figured some seemingly common but rare leadership traits in them. In this piece, I want to highlight learnings from each of them that have propelled their rise to stardom.
NEERAJ PANDEY
IF YOU ARE CONVINCED ABOUT YOUR CRAFT, PLAN WELL AND NEVER CHANGE. SUCCESS WILL FOLLOW.
Neeraj Pandey (right) directing Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah
He had announced his entry into Bollywood with his first directorial, the highly acclaimed and award-winning A Wednesday. He worked with not one but two acting legends Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher and made sure they delivered exemplary performances in his debut feature. In Kher’s own words, the script of the movie was sent by a common friend with a small note that the money wasn’t that great as it was the director’s first movie. As luck would be, Kher was on a flight from Mumbai to Delhi the very next day and decided to read the script. Completely blown by what he read, the first thing he did on landing was to call Neeraj, just to ensure the role of the Mumbai Police CP Rathore didn’t go to anyone else. The rest was history, as they say. Being a senior, Kher had suggested some changes in the script which Neeraj politely refused, and that started a beautiful relationship between a veteran actor and younger director. Kher has remained a favourite on the sets of Friday Filmworks, the production company set up by Pandey and his friend Shital Bhatia. For the interested, A Wednesday was shot and ready in 24 days flat.
KABIR KHAN
IF YOU RESEARCH WELL, YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE A SOLID PRODUCT.
Kabir Khan (left) kept his promise of telling a story - of The Forgotten Army
Whatever I am today, is because of my documentary background,” says Kabir. I had the privilege of knowing him during his early days of struggle when he came to Mumbai, not knowing anyone in the city. He came armed with documentary filmmaking experience, which was not so hot those days with commercial movie producers. But it eventually proved to be the secret formula of his success. It helped him reach the top of the ladder when mainstream movies started getting realistic. He has directed Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh, John Abraham, Saif Ali Khan and other A-listers in some of the highest grossing movies like Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Yet, Kabir never forgot the promise he made to the war veterans Captain Lakshmi Sehgal and Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, when he undertook a road journey from Singapore to India via Thailand and Myanmar in 1996. He had promised them that he would tell the story of the Azad Hind Army one day. His mini series The Forgotten Army released earlier this year on Amazon Prime.
TAAPSEE PANNU
NEVER TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY, TAKE YOUR WORK SERIOUSLY. IT WILL THEN BE EASY TO HANDLE FAILURES.
“There is a huge high when movies are written for you, at the same time it is scary as it takes you very close to the thin line that separates superstardom and beginning of the end.” That’s how Taapsee sums up her decade-long but super-successful career like a mature statesman. “Failures are inevitable in this ever-so-fickle tinsel town; the mantra is always not to take you seriously. Have people around you to keep you sane and not make you fly too high from where the fall can be harder,” she continues. I had met her when she got her first title role in a Neeraj Pandey production, Naam Shabana, in the early part of her Bollywood journey. She has never looked back ever since. Pink, Badla, Manmarziyan, Mulk, Saand ki Aankh, Thappad gave her the platform she needed to showcase her talent. And she did.
ADIL HUSSAIN
TO BE THE BEST, YOU NEED TO TRAIN 18 HOURS A DAY FOR 20 YEARS. ELSE YOU WILL REMAIN GOOD, MAYBE VERY GOOD, BUT NOT THE BEST.
Adil Hussain (left) in Mukti Bhawan
Adil is probably the best kept secret of the Indian movie industries for the world. He is a winner of national awards for his roles in Mukti Bhawan and Maj Rati Keteki (Assamese), besides a national award in Norway for What Will People Say. He effortlessly slips into characters directed by Oscar winning directors like Ang Lee and Danis Tanovic, as well as into cameos in mainstream movies like Good Newwz featuring Akshay Kumar or 2.0 featuring Rajinikant. The reasons for his international fame are the years he has spent in the National School of Drama (NSD), both as a student and as teacher, and acting in theatre in various parts of the world. Revered as one of the finest stage actors, he attributes his success to his teachers at NSD who include legendary actors like Barry John, Naseeruddin Shah and Kahlid Tyabji.
NIMRAT KAUR
BE READY TO GIVE IT YOUR BEST; LIFE DOESN’T GIVE TOO MANY TAKES.
Nimrat Kaur (centre) in Homeland
Life doesn’t give too many options and you should be ready to give your best. So says the actor who tasted success with the highly acclaimed The Lunchbox alongside Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui early in her career. Since then, she has featured in two major shows in the west, Homeland (seasons 4 and 8) and Wayward Pines. In Homeland, she had to draw up her character – of Tasneem Qureishi (DG, ISI) – from scratch as there was no real-life example to follow. Nimrat infused her Sikh background and roots from Pakistan to bring life to this ruthless character on screen, quite different to her real-life persona. With Homeland, the script was handed over just a few days before each shoot. Not having a full character arc in advance, much was left to improvisation and on-set reaction to the other characters. When there was a take, she simply gave it her best.