Akhilendra Mishra is a well-known actor in the entertainment industry. He has played important roles in many television shows like Mahabharata, Udaan, Chandrakanta. His contribution to cinema has also been worthy of praise. He has always left a deep impression on people’s hearts with his powerful performance. Now on Sahitya Aaj Tak 2024, the actor had a special conversation on spirituality and acting.
Who will explain to you how to act?
Akhilendra Mishra has written a book on acting, titled Abhinaya, Actor aur Spirituality. The actor explained the connection and synergy between spirituality and performance on the stage of Sahitya Aaj Tak.
What did Akhilendra say about the book?
In a conversation with moderator Arpita Arya, the actor said, “Hindi doesn’t have any book on acting.” I had decided that if I became anything in life, I would bring a book on acting in Hindi for the coming generations, which is in front of you.
What is the connection between acting and spirituality?
About this the actor said: Spirituality is the origin, human birth is also spiritual, we inhale and exhale, this process is also spiritual. Spirituality is knowing the person inside you. We have based our actions on spirituality. The actor is a spiritual personality. These are the basis of the book. Any character an actor plays is a spiritual journey.
‘Whether or not an actor believes that he is not spiritual, he does not believe in it. But spirituality does not mean that you approach any religion, but spirituality lies in knowing the person inside you. Whenever an actor plays a character, the entire process is spiritual.
I wanted to be an engineer, but how to be an actor?
About this, the actor said: I was born in a Brahmin family in Bihar. The values regarding worship, language and personality were instilled in him from a young age. I spent 5 years in Gurukul in my childhood. I studied with Guruji at the riverside ashram for five years. When I started acting, the spirituality within me also came to light. Somewhere or another, every great actor has that spiritual practice, but he doesn’t have to believe in it.
Do people start to get scared after playing the role of a villain?
On this, regarding his character Krur Singh in Chandrakanta, the actor said: My character Krur Singh has a different story, because my face was covered and people did not recognize me. But when he spoke, people would look back and ask, are you there?
Akhilendra Mishra said that among all his characters, which one is the closest to his heart. The actor said: In the profession I work in, such a character has not appeared until now. However, the character of Chandrashekhar Azad, which I played in ‘Legend of Bhagat Singh’, is close to my heart. But the most difficult character has been given to me by God. That is the role of a son, the role of a husband, the role that I am playing before my society and my generations, it is very difficult. Each person plays their own character.
What is the difference between cinema and drama?
Actor Jose- Cinema and theater are the union of two situations. One situation is that of the public that has come to see the work and the other is that of what happens on the screen. Cinema is the union of both circumstances. Like you are watching the movie ‘Lagaan’. The story is from the British era, but the audience is from the PM Modi era. If the audience of Prime Minister Modi’s time looks at the history of the British, then this is cinema.
