With an aim to help the budding artists get a much-deserved opportunity in the industry, Producer and writer Rajesh Mohanty recently came up with a 7-day workshop, Dreamz Bollywood, gets candid with The Pioneer sharing deets about the workshop and future plans for the same.
Who doesn’t ever have a dream to work in the Bollywood industry? We’re sure the majority of you all would have had this dream, at least once. But getting in and getting the right opportunity would surely be a big task in itself.
But that is where we have people getting on board to help out some amazingly talented people get that well-deserved opportunity. One of them is producer and writer Rajesh Mohanty, who is known for producing Antardhwani, Inside Stories: That Day, and Inside Stories: It’s Over. How? Well, recently he organised a Bollywood workshop, ‘Dreamz Bollywood’. The workshop aimed to provide a platform for nurturing new talents with a desire to bridge the gap between aspiring performers and the industry’s stalwarts to safeguard them from being misguided and lost. The workshop not only had the presence of celebrities like Mahesh Manjrekar, Sanjay Mishra, Saurabh Shukla, Madhur Bhandarkar, Rajesh Tailang, Gagan Dev Riar, Neeraj Pathak, Rannvijay Singha, and Sai Kabir, but also the budding talents being guided by them.
Unlike conventional workshops, the producer-writer says, “Our event brings together not only actors but also directors, producers, stylists, choreographers, casting directors, make-up professionals, photographers, dieticians, fitness experts, and social media strategists—a comprehensive immersion into the multifaceted world of Bollywood. In the dazzling world of entertainment, aspiring individuals often find themselves lost in a maze of misinformation and misguided influences. Our unique programme will culminate in the selection of the top 10 most promising individuals, who will be granted the opportunity to work with renowned production houses.”
Basically, he entered the industry six years ago with the film Antardhwani with the award-winning cinematographer-filmmaker A.K. Bir, which didn’t win one or two but bagged 14 international awards.
But, of course, that was not an easy breakthrough. Just like many newcomers, he too had his struggles and challenges. So, he didn’t want any new ones to go through the same hardships. And so, the workshop.
“Every time I had met these people, they used to always say they had spent around 10 years auditioning, but who are they doing auditions with? Nobody knows. In such cases, some even end their lives, and some just go back. So even the ones who have got some great talents do not get the opportunity. And I wanted to bring a path for them to show their talent. There was a dire need for a platform that would properly guide them. Even when we used to go for the auditions, people who were not aware used to randomly wear anything and come for the auditions. Some people used to also end up wearing party dresses thinking if they wore the glamour dresses they’d be selected. Being the guideline was the main motive.”
Bollywood Dreamz is not just an event; it’s a vision realised through the collaborative dedication of Mr. Rajesh Mohanty alongside other directors including Swapna Pati, Gaurav Parikh, and Kirpal Singh, combined with the efforts of the entire team. Grateful for the support that he has received from the fraternity, he enthuses, “It’s good that so many celebrities are supporting me because every time that I told my idea to Madhur bhai and Sanjay bhai, they’ve always stood for me. With whomever I spoke to, every one of them was like, This has to happen, and it would be a unique platform, and they were eager to be a part of it. We even brought on board psychologists for their mental strength discussion because many, when they don’t clear auditions, get very low since they travel all alone. I’ve been very much associated with Sanjay Mishra ji, and so he was always like, I’m going to come and bring many people too. The platform’s uniqueness is the reason so many people have been associated with it.”
As we head towards the end of our conversation with him, with the immense response and appreciation that he has received, he signs off by saying, “We will be conducting such a workshop every year. At present, we have been associated with the Goa government. The CM also really appreciated the platform. It’s not just about 100 or 150 youngsters, but for the entire nation and the industry in these cities. They just end up wasting their time and money here and in their careers too, so there was this need to show them the path. We would want to bring them the right platform for them to succeed in it.”
