Faezeh Jalali, a theatre actor and director, in a conversation with Teentalkindia talks about following Passion.
There is nothing else that actor Faezeh Jalali would rather be doing than what she is doing right now. She is creating art. Her latest endeavour, Shikhandi – the story of the in-betweens, has had a successful run across cities. She reveals that the theatre piece was created after her break-up. “Take your broken heart and make it art,” Jalali quotes American actress Carrie Fisher.
Having been associated with theatre for last 18 years, Jalali found her calling during her teen years. “We all know what we want to do with our lives when we are young. But we forget, and start believing that we have to be rich and famous,” she says. Adding to that, parents and teachers keep reiterating that “you need to be practical.”
Don’t be misunderstood here. While she may have recognised her passion early in her life, she had her own set of challenges. She has been practical throughout her life. While she was finding her feet in the acting world, she started teaching for a while and worked at a gym. “Working in a gym was a good study of people,” she responds, and, says, “As an artist, there are times when you have shoots every day and times when you do not have a project for months.”
While Jalali does not have an objection to this sort of a lifestyle, she does have strong views about how aspiring actors are treated during auditions. “Anybody giving auditions regularly will know the meaning of rejection. Some actors take it personally which takes a toll on their self-worth.” Her motto in life is not to give up on your passion yet to give your passion enough time to make it into concrete reality. She believes that doing what you love will make you happy. On asking if she is happy, she say “YES, I am at peace.”
Her message to all teenagers and our youth who are aspiring to become actors is to not rely on chances. “Chances are moments. You cannot base your career on them. And if all of us were ‘Stars’, there would be no Stars.”