Stars yes but actors?

Dropped in the sets of Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra's Dilli 6 in Mumbai the other day and saw the difference between stars and actors. Mehra as a director follows a Hollywood style of film-making. He, accompanied by cinematographer Binod Pradhan, first watches the actors rehearse, then their moves are blocked, the area lighted up, and only then does he call out for Sound, Camera and Action.

For most stage and professional actors this is a welcome procedure. And on the sets you can see how actors like Om Puri, Waheeda Rahman, Atul Kulkarni, Pavan Malhotra and Raghuvir Yadav put in wonderful performances.

But for the new lot of undisciplined actors such as Abhishek Bachchan and even Sonam Kapoor all this means extra hard work and is a "waste of time" These stars are used to walking out from the make up van and strutting back to its comfort after "delivering" their lines.

Sigh. Is it any wonder then our stars make such poor actors?