#HGAcademy: Learn The Craft Of Acting With Authenticity From Writer & Actor Eisha Chopra

How do you stay true to yourself when ideally, to become an actor, you need to abandon every bit of yourself?

Can acting and authenticity exist without one another?

Can you have any art without authenticity?

Should you make art and call it ‘art’ if you have not been authentic about it?

Too many questions, right? We are certain that a lot of actors and observers of the reel constantly keep ruminating over these and more questions such as these at all times.

The best of actors might be able to tell you that acting is really all about getting inside the character’s skin. Perhaps, however, it’s also about feeling every emotion and emoting the way you naturally would if you were to be that character, or, in the words of Meryl Streep, “acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.”

To take this conversation forward and to explore the art of acting and the relationship between the actor and the person performing the craft, Homegrown is inviting actor, writer and storyteller Eisha Chopra who is popular across Bollywood and Digital Streaming media for having been part of projects like Neerja (2016), What the Folks (Seasons 1&2), P.O.W., CEOgiri, and The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family (2018), amongst others for today’s HG Academy session.

At a time when our physical spaces are confined and movement is stifled, the only constant in our lives is our own creativity. For a while, we, at Homegrown have been toying with the idea of evolving our platform into a space that inspires generations to believe that their career paths are not limited to those shaped by our society and that there is a world out there that where creative industries are thriving. Our sole motivation behind this attempt is to shift the needle in the Indian creative industries. This is where the idea of HG Academy comes to fruition.

Our mentor of the day, Ms Eisha Chopra is known for portraying different characters with equal seamlessness and ease. Also a writer and storyteller, she says that her writing has only honed her acting skills as it helps her see beyond the script and take notes of the nuances involved.

The sessions at HG Academy see digital festivals, skill-building sessions, new personal & professional strategies and similar efforts towards connecting you to the world of creators to learn and be inspired. The aim is to deep-dive into the creative process, new ways of learning, re-imagination of old ways and experience and learn more. As we spend our days inside our homes and within ourselves, HG Academy with its commune of creative thought leaders and pioneers teach you the basics that you might not get access to elsewhere. We hope for it to evolve into a culture of creation, collaboration, discovery through an exchange of thoughts & ideas.

The following are Eisha Chopra’s resource recommendations if you want to learn more about acting and authenticity:

Podcasts
Guys We’ve Fucked by Corinne Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson

My Dad Wrote a Porno hosted by Jamie Morton, James Cooper, and Alice Levine

Conan O Brien Needs A Friend hosted by Conan O’Brien, Matt Gourley, and Sona Movsesian

On Purpose by Jay Shetty
Kwik Brain by Jim Kwik

Books

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011) by Yuval Noah Harari

The Brain in Love: 12 Lessons to Enhance Your Love Life (2009) by Daniel G Amen
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Films
Closer (2004) by Mike Nichols
The Namesake (2006) by Mira Nair
Wild Tales (2014) by Damien Szifron

Talks:
The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown

Do Schools Kill Creativity? by Sir Ken Robinson

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Irrfan Khan: Remembering The Extraordinary Actor That Brought Ordinary Lives To Life

#HGAcademy: Learn The Art Of Independent Filmmaking With Director Aditya Kripalani

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