It is not so unusual when actors shifted their focus from acting to other technical parts of film making. The latest to have joined the list is the acclaimed actress Mita Vashisht. The talented thespian has captivated the audience with her acting skills through all kind of medium. Now after having a prolific career on television, films and theatre, the lady will be donning the hat as a director.

In the past Mita turned writer for Zee TV’s thriller suspense Saalgirah will be directing a documentary. The non-fiction film will be all about the art and craft of acting. Ms. Vashisht has already completed writing for the film and has locked actors for the same. 

A National School of Drama alumnus, Mita has finalised another NSDA face for the film. Mita’s enthusiasm about her project seemed contagious and she shed more light on her project, “I’m making this film on the art and craft of acting. It is really about the nitty-gritty of what goes into learning acting and what makes a good actor, a great one! It talks about the secrets of a performance like voice, breathe, body language and all of that.”

The reason behind making the documentary is quite an interesting one. Ms. Vashisht further added, “I left like I need to make this film because a lot of people actually call me up and ask me acting tips. They ask for help. Whenever people watch my performance the first thing they ask me is how I can act from head to toe. I do help them but tips are just tips. The film will deal with all the basic concepts of acting. However, it doesn’t do it in a talky fashion, it is a series of improvisations.  They are like little stories that tell you the larger stories which in the end will depict the facets of the craft.”

After a brief pause she continued talking about the things one can expect from the film. She shared, “For all those whose thought that they need to read books to learn acting or when people open quickie schools saying that they’ll teach them acting in 3-6 months, for all those students this film will be very helpful. They will at least know the path. Acting is not something you learn in few months it’s a lifelong process commitment.”

Mita is currently working on the pre-production of the film and will start with her Varanasi schedule from December. Vashisht has earlier worked with filmmakers like Mani Kaul, Mani Ratnam, Govind Nihalani and Subhash Ghai. 

So it’ll be interesting to see if she has incorporated any of their direction nuances in her directorial venture.