Moments of Truth

Shabana Azmi, one of the most respecting leading actors in India, has written the foreword.Almost every well known Indian actor of the last three decades has trained under Roshan Taneja and would be willing to support his memoirs.Roshan Taneja learnt acting in the early 1950s in the USA. After returning to India he set up the department of acting at the Film Institute of India, Pune, where he taught acting for thirteen years before starting his own acting school in Bombay. He has coached almost every well-known actor in Bollywood today.From his childhood in the borderlands of what is now Pakistan, to his position today as the foremost teacher of acting - guru of acting - in India, the saga of Shri Roshan Taneja is not only the story of this remarkable man, but of India herself - vision, grit, struggle, and a never ending search for perfection. From his 13 years of teaching at the Film Institute of India, Pune, to today, the list of Taneja-sahib's students reads like a list of honour - Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya Bhaduri, Naveen Nischal, Rehana Sultan, Danny, Shabana Azmi, Mithun Chakraborti, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri - these are only a few of his students from the Film Institute; when he shifted to Bombay, he guided such fine actors as Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgun, Govinda,Tina Munim, and so many others. Roshan Taneja speaks of all of these artistes in rich, personal terms - but he also speaks of his struggle in the Hindi-film industry - including doing an impromptu improvisation with Meena Kumari - and, above all, his sojourn to the USA in the early 50's to pursue his dream of learning acting, a dream he pursues even today.Roshan Taneja, instantly recognised as the guru of acting in India, has coached a huge list of famous Bollywood heroes from Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bhaduri, Mithun Chakravarty, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, to Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgun, Govinda, and many many others. His memoirs are a testimony to all those he has taught and replete with memories that will appeal to anyone even remotely interested in Bollywood.