Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, and Sharvari Wagh: Bollywood stars who began as assistant directors

Prior to 'becoming a star' in Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor had the experience, along with other actors, of spending time on the other side of the lens, as an assistant director on films such as 'Black' and 'Aa Ab Laut Chalen.' During this time, he experienced the tonal qualities and mechanisms that constitute a film production from conception to storytelling, and that knowledge acted as inspiration during his development as an actor in film after the prior experiences. Kapoor's skills and experiences as an educator help bridge the gap connecting stage and film in practical pedagogies, and provide perspective to the actor of the environment of film production and the use of those experiences in the produced screenplay.

Before becoming a famous movie star, Varun Dhawan worked under Karan Johar as an assistant director on 'My Name Is Khan'. His education in this role provided him practical knowledge about the sets, direction and actors, by being involved in the creative process. There was intrinsic importance in having practical experience and being educated in the technical and emotional aspects of making films; confidence in front of the camera rises from being aware of the preparatory work behind the camera, it speaks to how many roles there are behind the camera and how important that is within Bollywood filmmaking.

Sidharth Malhotra also started his film career off-camera as an assistant director for 'My Name Is Khan.' Working on a serious studio film placed him in the midst of the production as it closely relates to the entire film. He gained insight into production and direction from working on this film; he learned the values of story, pacing, character rounding, and how to bring it all together. This also gave him a lot of tools as a working actor because he worked with even greater detail and realism to direct to the film.

Sharvari Wagh began her career in Bollywood as an assistant director on set for features like 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2' and 'Bajirao Mastani'. In the same positive light, her experience working behind the camera and in the position of assistant director gave her a lot of insight into the filmmaking process. From the pre-production stages, to shot planning, and finally communicating the director's vision to a talented group of actors, all of these experiences helped Sharvari ease in to acting to lessen the immediate pressures of embracing such a fine, talented group of individuals and film producers. The assistant director experience is almost built-in by then; it just articulates how well you can learn a craft from the ground up, and actors are working off a sound foundation.

Bollywood superstars, such as Hrithik Roshan and Arjun Kapoor, both had a time where they had been behind the camera before becoming stars. Hrithik Roshan had exposure to the craft of filmmaking within the Roshan family, while Arjun Kapoor worked on sets and contributed as an actor in lower-status roles for directors. Being on and in these different contexts gave the actors a solid foundation for understanding storytelling methods, practices on set, and some of the nitty-gritty practices of directors. Being in the eye of the experience gave these actors the foundation that informed their acting and performance choices when they became actors.