They say “you know, you do need a mentor, but in the end, you really just need to believe in yourself and do it”. True but the mentor plays a role in creating that self-belief which usually does not come without the magic hands of a mentor. If you are a young Australian (of whatever descent) and fancy a career in Bollywood, Sydney based Raj Suri and founder of Miss India Australia, is one such mentor magician you can get in touch.
Raj has done the magic to the careers of many in the last twenty or so years and the names are plenty. Just a couple of them will be Vimala Raman (of Sydney) who has 40 feature films to her credit and Melbourne’s Pallavi Sharda who bagged the main lead opposite none other than Ranbir Kapoor in Besharam.
Vimala Raman, Miss India Australia Winner 2004 is a close friend making him hugely proud.
“Vimala has so much within her and has achieved much (acted in over 40 feature films) that she does not have to prove anything. VIMALA is already an amazing Woman”, says Raj.
He is equally proud of Pallavi Sharda who he says ‘did everything herself’ and again does not take much credit for helping her for what she has managed to achieve in her career.
“Pallavi is amazingly resolute girl and makes everyone proud”, he says.
Did he do the ‘fixing’ for them to get their break in Bollywood?
“No, I tell everyone – if any mentor is promising you a certain career in Bollywood, that is the biggest lie”, Raj told Bharat Times from Sydney.
“I do mentoring through various courses and prepare them for their journey in Bollywood. It is not easy out there, living in Mumbai – all on your own, away from family – at a p[lace where you know nothing about and around; after that preparation, they at least know what they can expect when they land there and are fully equipped to handle”, he added.
His honesty would astound anyone. He does not promise what he cannot deliver and delivers what he promises. And that is the secret of his success and growth in the last twenty years.
Raj offers courses for personal branding, image development, content creation, media training as part of his mentorship programs. The courses help candidates to identify their true passion which helps them to transform their personality, career and business.
His training is designed to help new talent to become an “influencer”in their own way which helps each individual to achieve their set goals in life, be it in business, career or profession.
Providing well rounded personality development, Raj people to gain more confidence and conviction.
For those focused on Bollywood, he offers special courses on how to “Face the camera” including audition tips and “content creation”.
“It’s all in the ‘art of seeing’.. the rest is academic” – he tells his pupils who join him for his courses.
With real connections in Bollywodd, Raj is also passionate about promoting Bollywood content down under and help facilitate its production in Australia.
Raj Suri was also one of the judges in SBS TV’s “Bollywood Star” in 2012.
Although he regrets more seasons of the show did not materialize, Raj Suri is confident it is only a matter of time and soon a lot more of Bollywood will start happening down under.