Neerja actor Prashantt Guptha says that multi-tasking is the only sure shot way of making it in Bollywood
Prashantt Guptha
When I first came to Mumbai and got into Bollywood, I was very sure I wanted to focus on only that, otherwise people think you are doing too many things," says actor Prashantt Guptha, "but then I realised I can't wait for people to give me roles. I had to do all that I could, and show my multiple talents, and that way, more avenues would open up." Guptha has aced that formula. He has been around for a decade now, and only got his big break as a villian in the 2007 Prateik Babbar-starrer Isaaq. After that, he has acted in significant roles in movies like Neerja, the National award-winning Irada, and Identity Card.
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The Rajasthani son of jeweller parents, Guptha was born and brought up in New York. The theatre student though always had Bollywood dreams and headed to Mumbai when he was 25 years old. Two years ago though, Guptha made a conscious decision not to only concentrate on acting, but also nurture other talents, for instance singing and poetry. Today, he is getting ready to release his second song on his YouTube channel, a cover of the Kishore Kumar hit Ruk Jaana Nahin for the legend's birthday on August 4.
"I had done a cover of a Rafi song that did very well, and was wondering what to do next. And then, Kishore came to me in my dreams, and I knew what I had to do," says the 36-year-old. Celebrities like Sonam Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan had tweeted about Guptha's last song, so the actor is positive that this song will get an audience as well. "With my last song, every one praised my courage to sing an offbeat Rafi number. With this song, I wanted to do something more fun." But that's not all. Along with waiting for two features to releases (a war drama called Tabeer and a short film called A Bit of A Loner), Guptha is producing his own short as well, under his banner Savi Creations.
It's called Tu and is basically a dialogue between a man and his sub-conscious. "What happens when a 35-year-old, who is ready give up on life, talks to his inner spirit? He gets all the answers. That's what that is about," he explains. Yet, that's not all. He is also a spoken word poet. "I had released a book of poems when I was 21, which even Mr Bachchan liked. But of course, poetry has a niche audience. But I am so inspired by the recent digital revolution, where you can get a new audience just by putting up videos. So I contacted WittyFeed, the largest content site in India, and they loved my spoken word videos! So now, I have a space there once a month." Guptha usually performs poems about romance and life experiences, and it would seem he has many to share. After all, he has managed to carve his own little niche in the great big ocean we call the Indian film industry. "To succeed, or to basically not let the delay or wait get to you, you have to make your own rules. I tell my own story."
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