Monday Monologues… the first of many more..?
I discussed this idea with oz, and he was all up for it, so I figured what better outlet?
I got into acting during my final semester at Virginia Tech in 2001, where I took an intro course as an elective to satisfy my requirements for graduation. I had no desire to get into acting before this, and I looked at this class as an easy A. I finished the class with a B. But it was probably the most significant B I’ve ever gotten in my life, because it made me realize I really needed to pursue this bug and see where it leads. So after graduating, along with signing up with an agency and going on auditions, one of the ways I would hone my own skills is by practicing monologues from various movies and taping myself on camera. I was very adamant on not spending money on classes… and I still am. My theory was “I have the most amazing actors in the world at my disposal on a DVD anytime I want. Why not just learn from them?” Presumptuous maybe, but that’s just me.
Anyway, taping myself performing monologues was mostly for fun, and I never actually intended to have people besides my family see it… until now. It’s only appropriate that the first one be from a movie that involved Ramu in some capacity, so I present to you Manoj Bajpai’s monologue toward the end of “Shool”. I would actually rate his performance in this movie higher than Satya, and kudos to E Niwas for not making “just another cop flick”. Special thanks to our own Anurag for writing such powerful dialogues in the movie!
My other Hindi monologues have been from Lagaan (where Bhuvan convinces the villagers why Kachra should be on the team) and Amar Akbar Anthony (Amitabh’s bandage scene in front of mirror). I’ve also done one from Mounam Pesiyadhe (a Tamil movie starring Surya, where he talks about modern love and dating). Plenty others that have been untaped as well. I haven’t done one of these in about 3yrs now, but might get back into it and do posts on PFC every alternate Monday with a new monologue.
Notes for you, the viewer:
1. As with anyone creative, feedback is what keeps us going. So feel free to trash me, as long as you can give me a reason (: [not just "this part sucked".. instead "this part sucked because..."]
2. These were done 3yrs ago when I first started acting, so I’m sure my style has changed. It is quite possible that at the time, even subconsciously, I was aping the actual performances in certain parts. This was NOT my intent, but I’m sorry if it comes off as that. I was still learning the ropes. My intention is in no way to disrespect or demean the actual performances of the actors by any means, because I admit none of my performances will be even an ounce of the real stuff.
3. None of us has seen every single movie in the world. My hope is that some of these monologues may inspire you to watch the movie if you haven’t seen it already, or to go back and revisit the movie if you have.
4. If there’s requests, please pass them along! My email is striker290@gmail.com – I’ll watch the movie and learn the monologue, and hopefully your pick will be up on PFC with me performing it! Please keep in mind that if there’s multiple requests, I’ll pick one in the order of the request. I’ll need a 1 month timeframe from the date you requested the monologue, so your request may not see light til the 3rd MM post. PLEASE make sure the requests are from hindi/tamil/english movies (for now), and under 4mins.
5. Enjoy!!!
p.s. the next monologue in line is from Amitabh’s bandage scene in AAA
Tags: Acting, Video
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Striker bhai – WOW!!!
After watching this performance I have begun to understand how difficult it is to perfom a monologue and that to being surrounded by no one.
Grt section bro… keep em coming. The six pack that I was due is now joined by a couple of rounds of chivas… will try to meet up on 5th in DC!
thx ravptor.. but on the contrary, it’s way easier to perform when there’s nobody around
the hard part is when the 400-watt lights are trained on you, the cake-like layer of makeup is dripping off your face, and 10-15 people in the cast and crew are standing around you..
this one just had me hitting the record button and running in from off camera.. wish i could do that in every film ;)
- Striker, I have absolutely no idea on checking the act out when its pulled out of the movie and done in its own independence. It’s like now I as the viewer was a fish out of water. So here’s my amateurish “do aana” – I thought you could have grasped my attention more deeper with voice going high and low (modulation & pitch) – to start with it could have been lower and then when he flows into his emotion he gains power in his sadness to want to push things his way… the pitch then could have gone higher towards the middle – yet even there – the ending words of a few sentences could have gone softer or “broken off” (half incomplete words left melting away in the throat) and then the pitch would have gone down in the second half as he realizes his wife dies… the highest point at the down (voice) being “aee” (when he’s checking to see if she is alive)…
But then again… that’s my take as a fish out of water viewer… – anyone teaching acting on PFC? Care to comment?
oz Brutal review stamp: watching the video at work earlier with the volume at zero – got me into a terrible misunderstanding… I was watching your facial expressions and thinking you were doing a comic skit… ooops sorry…
You have the guts to put these videos on here… it only proves there is only one way for you to go… up and up…
>-
Striker,
My internet connection is slow but u look intense like Manoj.
I also went to VT and tried my hand at Phd (2003), wasted a year and decided it was not worth it then joined NYFA what a wonderful change that was!
You got the entire thing in one go! if am right then the actual thing wasn’t done in a single shot. it was a combo of manoj’s and raveena’s reactions. but u tryin to attempt a monologue is commendable since it gives you no time to even breathe…
PS: loved the way you pronounced ‘bail’
striker … lemme be a bit liberal and frank with u (since u and i share the same names …)
U tried real hard … that i can make out …
Here are my two pennies ..
1. expression didnt change/vary that much… it seemed a little stiff and ‘rehearsed’ didn’t look spontaneous and natural … (I understand since it is a longish monologue with no cuts in the middle) it looked theratrical and not ‘camera’ …
2. As oz pointed out …u could do with a bit of modulation …
3. There were moments where i felt as if u were looking for the lines !! U were thinking about the next lines to come…. if need be u needn’t stick to the original words exact/verbatim manner (if that distracts u)
4.I didn’t see enough passion …. (Now i know that’s tough to come close to manoj) … but thoda emotion aur passion zyaada aa sakta tha … especially in this scene …. coz this one is a a real emotional and heartbreaking scene (and i must admit real toughie to crack !!!)
As far as ur inhibitations on crew and camera is concerned … yes it might be difficult … but it is BEST FOR U TO IGNORE THEM !!! AS IF THEY DNT EXIST AND U ARE TOTALLY ENGROSSED IN UR PERFORMANCE …
Just an example … do u know (my friend was telling me from behind the scenes etc) that in the shooting of this scene … Direrctor E nivas had to say ‘cut’ thrice to wake manoj out of his emotional moment. Manoj was so caught up after raveena’s death that he didn’t listen to Nivas’ voice !!!!
i hope my comments dont deride/ discourage u … must say it is real easy to comment but real difficult to take it … and even more to put ur monologue on site !!!
Another Suggestion = Shool last scene manoj in the parliament!!!!
Kartik, I do agree with you when you say thoda aur passion chahiye but even if one manages to give a candid performance even then the comparison factor comes in considering the original was highly riveting. So even if Striker does a decent job…it’s Manoj’s act that captures our minds…yunnoh the originality binds you.
In that sense if one sees Striker’s take it’s fair enough….
BTW, you pointed out some fine nuances which would certainly help him.Wot say?
Oh I need to view this from home. Seems interesting.
lets hope the nuances do help him :-)
well obviously the original was really rivetting .. and that’s why striker chose it in the first place…
im not comparing it with manoj in that sense (or perhaps subconsciously it is inevitable) …
my point is that striker wasn’t looking ‘broken down’ enough …. he wasn’t looking devasted … which the character of manoj was …. may be its got to do with glycerine … may be its gotta do with the camera angle or lighting but still it didn’t convince me that striker was talking to his wife on deathbed …. somehow he didn’t have the necessary emotion … he did have the emotion … but perhaps it wasnt enough… i couldn’t feel striker’s pain in the manner in which i fel manoj’s pain …. and that is what striker would want to do … i.e convey maximum amount of emotion as possible …
two more suggestions striker
1. make sure the room is better light …
2. how about irfaan’s scenes/monologues in
haasil = when ranvijay singh is bound on his chair immideately after he hears that his family has been attacked and killed in village
another one in haasil = when irffan gets to know of his bride’s escape and he creates a scene in front of sharat saxena and his wife .. “Ladki badnaam thi” ….
charas = when his character ranjit singh rathore is awarded the medal and he goes to recieve it drunk … (this one is my favorite) …
Watsay striker ???? :-?
Kartik…bang on target…i simply love irrfan’s outburst…especially when he says “gauri shankar”…pauses for a sec and then says “pandey”. Awesome…can’t stop admiring that man!
Well that’s irfaan for u !!!
(I’ve been thinking about doing a post on him for a looooooooooooooong time) …. He’s one actor whom if i ever met … will fall on his feet and do a ’shastang namaskar’
But let’s not deviate from the point … He is a role model for many budding actors (which included me at one point of time) ….
I ll not say much about striker’s piece apart from that it was good. For me, original acts are more interesting, because no matter what you do, you will have the original still in mind. And Shool was such a film. I have seen it 4 times, and have the scenes imprinted in my heart. Though I liked striker’s treatment but I wont be able to do justice to judge re-enactments like these. I would love to see an original monologue.
Having said that, I think it takes some balls to even think of attempting what he has.I have been very shoddily involved with some acting stints, but they have all been meagre efforts. I belong to the more theatrical school of acting, but it is great to see PFC giving a platform to showcase our talents/skills.
I am still didvided over ‘learning’ acting or revisiting the great monologues, I guess I like the concept of a spoof more exciting.
As for Irrfan, POST SOMETHING ON HIM NOW! and I will post a million views on him n his films. I love Haasil.
Sorry Striker, I could not see your monologue as this U-tube link does not work for me.
Irfaan’s lovers:
Guys have you seen him in TV serials like Great Maratha and ChandraKanta?
yes, as pandit badrinath in chandrakanta with all those innumerable pigtails or whatever they were called…great actor…though i feel his best work were in the episodes of star bestsellers…catch ‘em if there are any re-runs.
yes, star bestsellers were absolutely essential. i remember vividly the one made by tigmanshu dhulia called ‘bhavre ne khilaya phool’ with all his regular actors-irfan, varun badola n the amazing guy frm haasil n ahista hista who always plays these small town PCO guy kinda roles with a panache of the likes of raghuveer yadav(i hope you know who i am talking about).
irfan cast as ’shuklaji’ was hilarious in that one with his trademark suppressed humor.
i would buy these series if i get them anywhere.
i doubt if there are any reruns now amidst the hailstorm of crappy soaps on star.
and how can we exclude MAQBOOL from irfan’s repertoire. that IMO was his best work til date.
folks, great comments and suggestions.. keep them flowing!
kartik, thx for the pointers.. yes, i do agree with you in that i didn’t look broken down enough.. umm.. in fact, oz thought i was doing a comedy scene :(( that about says it all eh?
) but you’re right.. a few moments where i was definitely searching for my lines in my head (especially when i wiped my forehead).. as for having the pressure of cast/crew/camera during my scenes, it’s all in the past. i’m now oblivious to them.. am in the midst of shooting my seventh feature right now, so time does refine you :D
i performed this 3yrs ago, so indeed it would be interesting to see how i would re-do it, if i did.. i think i might go for the haasil or charas ones next kartik.. i do love irrfan myself, and HOPEFULLY [-o< i’ll get to meet him tomorrow at the premiere of “the namesake” in NY at the IAAC film festival!
- Striker, do let us know how “The Namesake” was. Have heard good things about the movie.
That was nice striker, waiting for more
You are going for the premiere show of Namesake, wonderful! Waiting for your review, I wanted to go too but 100$ felt a li’l too expensive, it sucks that the movie is going to be out only in March :(
duhh..i think it will seriously tk some time for indian audience to mature…from what i see these days better screenplay is directly proportional to better better outcome(on box office)..but ofcoz theer r exceptions(any srk,salman movie turns out to be hit..dunno for what reson)…but our audience is gradually acceptin offbeat in mainstream..even our film mkrs r taking efforts to blend both the genres quite well..so i really wish that more of the high budget directors get inspired frm this small movement n churn out better movies than AAP KE KHATIR(i fucking watched that movie for 15 mins half n hr back n i swear i hv a headache ri now)..so kudos to all mavericks frm our industry
sorry for incorrect posting in here..i dunno how to delete this darn post or i wud hv been hv been the 1st person to delete it..anyways excellent diction(if thats the wrd) frm ur side…but expressions wise..duhh u gotta do sumtin(but considerin it was 3 yrs ago n ur advent in this field…i must say its quite an effort)
P.S:i m quite an amateur ri now..so forgive if i hv md any mistake in jargon
Striker – My only input would be – and you’ve already heard it from others – re the voice modulation. That took guts, dude, to post it online!! Keep them coming.
@striker
well everyone has pointed out the things you need to learn …but when i compare with my fellow friends you have done good job …practise everyday and u will surely become a great actor …and i would like you to act a scene from some tamil movie …. “how about a scene from “mahanadhi” …. the way kamal breaks out after seeing his daughter talk in sleep ” …guess u remember the scene…. it is really a tough one ….but i would like you to practise it and do it well …cheers
i like your approach striker
but what i feel is teh real challenge comes when you do not have a bench mark what can you as an actor provide the text. how can it be charged words in themselves are just words but what can be made out of it is what an actor should approach.
another thing being monoluges in themselves are not representative to true talent its working with other actors and improvising ( this is a term which has to be understood )
its how you bulid years of relationships in an instant how you charge the space a lot of thought has to go into this
more than that a lot of riyaaz has to go into this because acting is not theory.
its like
talking about a film is very different from making a film
try this lets seewhat you make of it i am not providing teh punctuations as it breaks up speech you try to puchuate it according to what you feel
i dont want to meet you main apani purani galti kay guilt main nahi jee sakata yes i could have told you main kaya sooch raha tha i did not ok i jut could not and i am sorry kaya hai what is this pure love and feelings of heart soul mates see nandani its a dream you want to live in illusions go ahead do it domt pull me into this go back to preetam and lets end this .. mujhay iss main mat dalo cos i cannot live like this .. i hope we might never meet again …
for you i am a dream but for me you are right there nandani…
dont do this shit shit dont call me bye
good job striker! I do agree w/ the others that you do appear a bit stiff at times, but since this was a few years ago I am certain you must have improved since.
I look forward to seeing more in this series, and if not too late I wld like to request a scene for a future entry – how about the scene where rashid has his first meeting w/ sarkar?
this is arguably, and in my opinion, the best scene in the film and wld love to see how you wld act it out. this is particularly challenging I think, as zakir emotes more w/ his expressions than he does w/ dialogues.. a brilliant scene nonetheless
thanks megh.. very wise words you speak. you seem to know your stuff. am gonna try your monologue actually now.. i like that.. without punctuations, very cool. and the fact that a previous actor hasn’t set a benchmark will be better for the audience, since comparisons will go out the window.
kk, am renting haasil too.. that’ll be the next one. need to buy some equipment to be able to transfer this stuff from my hi8 camcorder to the comp.
dobson, great suggestion with rashid’s meeting with sarkar.. man i love the way he enacted that scene.. the way he casually continues to sip his chai after sarkar says “nahin karoonga mein yeh kaam”.. and rashid takes off his glasses and blows on them to clean them.. with such nonchalance. just wowww. and that stare he gives him while bending down to touch sarkar’s feet after sarkar says to him “aur rashid.. tumhe bhi nahin karne doonga!” pure class. unfortunately, this is a dialogue.. so i’d need a second actor. would particularly like to focus on monologues, so if you have another suggestion, do pass it along.. and thanks again
ah I see, ya you are right.. my mistake
ok how abt – when vishnu goes off on is whole emotional rant abt how his father is not so clean himself, and how he was justified in misusing his power (this is right before sarkar kicks him out of the house). that was another great scene I thought
that was a f*cking amazing scene enacted by kk.. i’ll be shot down if i even attempt it
but eh.. i like playing with fire so why not >:)
ya that was a really impassioned/intense scene from kk… should be interesting to watch
Hi,
Have to appreciate that you have selected a good monologue piece.
Heres my 2-cents worth :d,
1. I looked up through one minute and in the first minute itself i was confused as to “what is your objective”!
2. Good diction
3. You are using “pauses” but somehow you are not using them effectively
4. This is an intense scene, raise the stakes, get into the character lot more!!
regards