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LONDON - In the latest sign of Bollywood's expanding reach, one of the industry's biggest stars opened a new acting school in London on Thursday that will tutor aspiring actors who hope to break into Indian film.
Anupam Kher's Actor Prepares school in Ealing, west London, will drill seven students in acting, dance, yoga, stage combat and vocal technique in just three months.
The hopefuls will be instructed by Kher himself -- best known to Western audiences for his roles in "Bend It Like Beckham" and "Bride and Prejudice" -- as well as other Bollywood professionals.
Kher insisted his students would not fulfill the Bollywood stereotype of over-acting and melodrama, saying: "I'm very proud to be an actor in Bollywood but I am trying to get rid of the cliches which we are all used to seeing.
"This is an historical moment for me, as an individual and as an actor," Kher added.
"It gives us the great opportunity to prepare actors from this country to be able to act anywhere in the world."
The course, at the first Actor Prepares branch outside of India, is not cheap.
Students will pay 4,000 pounds (7,000 dollars, 5,000 euros) each for three months of tutorials, as well as a visit to a Bollywood film set in Mumbai.
At the end of the course, though, they will join the Actor Prepares talent agency.
One of the students, 24-year-old Neha Bhatt, admitted that while there was "no guarantee" of success, "at least I won't regret not trying."
"To have Anupam Kher teaching is of great benefit, he is an institution in himself, if he is teaching us then it's going to be the best," she said.
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