Poster boy for a job hunt

If anyone doubts that Bollywood is still the biggest draw for people flocking to Mumbai they would be utterly wrong Hundreds come in every day looking to become actorsdirectorswriterswhatmaybe in this mad film industryBharat Jethwani is one such aspirant The 21yearold caught our eye when social media mentions of him leaving visitors of Prithvi Theatre in awe started doing the rounds Jethwani has been standing at the gate of the legendary Juhu theatre for three weeks now holding up a simple poster in hand that says Hi I am an actor Please approach meFor us it may be cute story of the hustle that makes Bollywood But for Jethwani its just another way to try and get jobs and attract the attention of the ones who matter I was told to go to Prithvi and network But after a while you cant just go up to people when they are here for a play or a meal They get irritated And also you can only do that with people who are recognisable What about writers and directors whose faces I dont know Maybe they are doing great stuff I would like to get their attention tooJethwani seems to have realised early on that if he was afraid of judgment then he might as well pack up his bags and return to his Tekanpur Madhya Pradesh where he is from The fresh faced youngster speaks confidently though he seems reserved Back home his father is a businessman dealing in womens accessories and mother is a homemaker and though initially they tried to warn him of that he had no godfather in the industry they are standing by him They pay the rent of his Versova house as well and last year helped him with an eye surgery so he could stop wearing eye glassesmdashEvery time I went for an audition they asked me to remove my glasses A college dropout Jethwani did three years of theatre in Bhopal before coming to Mumbai in 2018 I never got paid there So it was all for the love of it When he reached Mumbai he made up his mind No more theatre only web shows and moviesIts been a year and a half and almost 100 auditions have come and gone He has played a few cameos in small web shows and movies but nothing worth writing home about When he gets demotivatedmdashthough thats not oftenmdashhis parents remind him why he moved to Mumbai I can do any kind of role I am not stupid to think I can dictate what I want I am really okay with acting in any kind of role says Jethwani who spends every evening not spent auditioning practicing lines be they belong to a girl or a boy in front of the mirrorThe last three weeks since he has been standing at Prithvi have been interesting Some people have ignored him but some have applauded his gusto including filmmakers like Imtiaz Ali who told him to come to his office and Anurag Kashyap who shared the number of a casting director He has made friends with directorswriters and musicians who frequent the cafe and theatre but he has also received some flak Just two days ago an elderly gentlemen first took a picture with me but then went on to abuse me and berate me He told me this is not the way he works and that if he took my poster to anyone important they would never say yes I didnt want to argue so I just kept quietJethwani is not deterred He has been getting calls to attend auditions ever since he has taken to advertising his talent And he plans to be at it till more work starts pouring in Some friends say You are an artiste Dont do this But isnt this just another way of selling myself Dont we do that every time we go for an audition We sell ourselves and our talent I am just finding new ways of doing itCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates