Aspirants try their luck at the audition conducted at Premchand Rangshala in Patna on Thursday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Lights, camera and action!

Aspiring actors from Patna got a taste of the silver screen on Thursday, as they auditioned for Music Meri Jaan, a new Bollywood film, at Premchand Rangshala.

An Indore-based production house, JD Pictures, is in the city to conduct auditions over two days and scout for new faces. The aspirants, however, had a tough time as judging them was Tanya Shankar, the film’s director. The budding actors came before Tanya to showcase their acting prowess and dance moves.

One of them, Prashant Kumar Sinha, 20, has his sights set on Bollywood. “Last night I could not sleep a wink as I was up rehearsing for the audition,” he said.

The aspiring actor performed the dialogues of Sanjay Dutt as Kancha Cheena from Agneepath and Shah Rukh Khan’s Don 2.

“I decided to present two acts, as I thought if I failed to impress the judges with one, I would surely win them over with my second performance,” said Prashant.

While aspirants like Prashant have no training, some of the candidates on the first day of audition came prepared. Several artistes, who have honed their skills in theatre, also reached Premchand Rangshala to try their luck.

One of them was Kartikesh Jha, a BCA student from Arcade Business College. “I have worked in more than 20 plays and I think my experience in theatre would help me clear the audition,” said the confident actor.

The two-day audition, one of many firsts in Patna, made several contestants upbeat.

“Such auditions are mostly held in metros and the talented people in small towns miss out on showcasing their skills. I am happy that this audition came to Patna, as my parents would not have allowed me to go elsewhere to try out my luck,” said Pankaj Kumar, a Class X student of PN Anglo High School, one of the youngest aspirants on Thursday.

Tanya, who is originally from Patna, said a character in her film is from Ara, one of her motivations to scout for talents here.

“I did my graduation from Patna Women’s College in 1990. I also taught at the institute’s communicative English department for two years before moving to New Delhi to pursue my acting career,” said 43-year-old Tanya.

The story of Music Meri Jaan, Tanya said, is about a reality show and the experience of the contestants. “I am looking for 20 youngsters who will portray the contestants in my film,” she said, adding that auditions have been already held in Indore, Bhopal and Mumbai.

On Friday, a fresh batch of contestants would come for audition at Kilkari Bihar Bal Bhavan from 11am to 5pm. The cinematographer of Music Meri Jaan, Nadeem Khan, will judge the aspirants.