Acting is a unique profession that challenges a person to find authentic moments and re create them for an audience. It takes a lot of skill to be able to genuinely experience an emotion and convey different realities in order to tell a story. Theater and film is an essential part of our society because a lot of the time we do not fully appreciate challenges that we face as humans until they are presented to us by Producers, Directors, Writers and Actors.Versatility is a trait of an actor that allows them to be able to research their role, and then dive into their role so that we can better understand who we are as a people. Theater and Film have shaped the way we understand and express ourselves. Art imitates life and often times the reverse of that shows just how influential theater and film can be. There are few better ways to reach people from each corner of the earth in order to help learn about each other.
Important stories can only be effectively told if the Actors are able to recreate a writer, producer and director's vision. In order for this to be possible, the Actors have to be professional in every sense of the word. The hard work and dedication to their craft is essential in order to be able to to hold one's own in such a competitive industry. An actor has to struggle through the uncertainties of their career, while managing personal sacrifices in order to be able to create a future in the industry.
In order to be able to understand that passion it takes to be able to have a career in Acting, I asked Anita Majumdar some questions about her career and amazing work.
R: When did you realize that you wanted to act? Was it a single defining moment or more of a gradual realization?Anita: A little of both. I was watching an Inder Kumar movie called "Dil" on video on a visit to India. After watching the movie with my parents, I watched the ending again with my grandfather. There was something about Madhuri Dixit that did it for me. The story was so melodramatic, but she made the situations so real and so simple ... I had never seen a Bollywood actress perform in that way before. It was nice to see a commercial actress blend both mass appeal and complex humanity into a performance.
R: What amazing acting performances in English and Hindi film or theater, have inspired you the most?
Anita: I always find this question a sort of a hard one. I'm constantly amazed by work I see in film and on stage. Because Bollywood was my first intro to entertainment storytelling, I think of Indian cinema. My introduction to English film and theatre was significantly later in my life. I loved Seema Biswas in Bandit Queen and I loved Guillermo Verdecchia in his one-man Fronteras Americanas; they inspire me towards great work in very different directions and aspects of the work. Those are only two examples of so many great performances, but I always know I've seen something inspiring when I walk away and find myself still in the world of that film or play. Where I feel like I'm playing the characters in my head and imagining what happens next. The best inspiration for me is when my imagination is set in motion.
R: What are your own favorite theater performances, during and after University?
Anita: I'm pretty picky about my own performances pre and post theatre school. I think I have moments that enjoy remembering. I feel the proudest of Heartbreak House (George Bernard Shaw). Sarah Stanley directed us in it in our final year at that National Theatre School and I played Lady Utterword. I had to put on a very stuffy British accent and at the same time find an emotional core to a person who is accused of having no heart by her family. It was a distinct time in my training as an actor where I felt a sense of reinvention.After theatre school, I suppose Fish Eyes is close to my heart because I wrote it and because I was present for the conception of those characters, but also I really love the character I play in Anosh Irani's Bombay Black. I love fighting for Apsara's power and authority every night.
R: What would you say to people who are interested in theater and television. What kind of dedication does it take to be able to persevere through this kind of career?
Anita: It's a career that takes a lot of patience and that's a lesson you're constantly learning and relearning. You can't expect consistency or a steady income, but the rewards of this profession are incredible. When it works, it's the most fulfilling feeling in the world. I think it's important to stay open to the many jobs you can have. I know very few actors who are strictly "just actors". There's a lot of multi-tasking involved, using many sets and combinations of your skills. But you have to keep with it. It doesn't happen over night. The hardest thing I'm learning is maintaining the work. It's easy when there aren't any expectations, but when you set a precedent, the stakes are raised. 
R: What challenge did you learn the most from and what experiences have defined who you are as a person today?
Anita: I think the lack of belief that I could be a working actor was a big instigator. When I was growing up in BC, I had very few teachers, fellow students/actors who encouraged me to act professionally. I was written off a lot. But there was something in the core of my being that disagreed and needed to prove myself. To believe in myself despite a lack of belief ... that was hard, but it fueled the fire.
R: What was the process like when auditioning for "Murder Unveiled" and what was it like finding out that you had gotten the part?
Anita: The audition for "Murder Unveiled" was pretty routine. I did the first round of auditions in Toronto and then I happened to be in Vancouver while they were doing the second round of auditions, so I got to meet the producers and director. It was pretty shocking when I found out I got the part. "Murder Unveiled" happened at a very difficult time in my life, so it was a ray of light during some really dark times.
R: What was your favorite scene/moment in the movie and why?
Anita: I think my favourite scene in the film is where Davinder and her mother are in the fields and her mother gets mad at her for not picking any of the potential suitors they've brought her way. I like it because it's a small glimpse of this relationship between Davinder and her mother. Because of what happens in the end between them, it's a nice juxtapose and one of the lighter moments in the film.
R: What were you hoping to accomplish by participating in Murder Unveiled? Why was it so important to tell this story?
Anita: When I took on "Murder Unveiled" I was hoping for a solid acting challenge, but never expected to take on such a great responsibility and that's to expected when you tell a story that is based in an issue that is so rarely talked about and even less understood by the Canadian main stream. It's important to start talking intelligently about this obsession with honour and attaching it to women the minute their born. I think "Murder Unveiled" managed to crack the silence.
R: What international events and performances have you attended or participated in? What was it like winning Best Actress @ 'Asian Festival of First Films' in Singapore?Anita: The big one last year was taking Fish Eyes to India. It was a very full circle experience. Taking a show about a girl's relationship with the diaspora back to its country of origin. The reaction from the audience was incredibly flattering that something I wrote could speak to people on the other side of the world. Winning Best Actress in Singapore was a surreal experience. It was a fantastic 6 days of films and really neat artists. It was the first time I had been placed in an award situation. Up until that point, I had never been nominated for anything much less for acting. The win was a real mark of achievement for me. I received my award and then 6 hours later started on my 27 hour journey back to Canada so I could get back in time for first day of rehearsal for Bombay Black, but I realized that the award meant so much because it was a chance for me to represent the countries and identities I belong to. Again, it was a moment to clarify what's important to me in my future work as an artist.
R: What other passions do you have? Where would you be if you did not become an actor?
Anita: It's funny, what used to be my hobby turned into my job! I don't really have any hobbies left so I just work. I love dance. I think if I had studied classical dance when I was younger, I would really have followed that path. It's an incredibly deep passion and the nature of my relationship to it really can't be summed up in words. I'm partially glad that half of my ability to dance is self-taught because it's really allowed me to explore the form in a very personal way.I'm constantly trying to think of jobs that I could do instead of being an actor just because of the unsteadiness of the profession. I might have landed up in administrative work or date entry, which is what I did during my summers while I was in university and theatre school. I have a knack for admin skills, but having an office job makes me immensely unhappy. What I do now is hard, but it's fulfilling!
