Kumar’s contemporary Balraj Sahni was an activist and short story writer before he got into acting. The need for a scientific approach is what Naseeruddin Shah, in And Then One Day, calls the search for “psychological truth”, a concept he borrows from Konstantin Stanislavski. Like the Russian actor-director, Shah wanted to develop a system for himself that did not rely too much on the mood of the actor at the moment. He also wanted to prove that looks and lineage were not necessarily deterrents to becoming successful in acting. And so his focus on “psychological truth”, which required him to empathise with the character and create multiple reference points around him.

Source: The Hindu April 15, 2018 18:45 UTC