Radaan to open acting school

Chennai-based Radaan Mediaworks India Ltd, run by actress Radhikaa Sarath Kumar, has joined hands with Anupam Kher's acting school, Actor Prepares, to set up an acting school in Chennai. The new school would also expand in tier II and III cities in the south as well as in Malaysia. Company chairperson and managing director Radikaa Sarath Kumar said, “This will be a diversification for the company into education”.

The company has been in the production business, mainly of television serials, and has produced over 10,000 episodes.

“Both the industry and our organisation is facing talent crunch. This would address it,” she said. The first school will come up at T Nagar, Chennai.

H Narayana Swamy, chief financial officer, Radaan Mediaworks India Ltd, said investment would be around Rs 25-30 lakh, which does not include land and building. This would be sufficient to set up the school in an area of 4,000-5,000 sft.

Going forward, we will focus on tier II cities like Tiruchi and Madurai. “We are looking at South East Asian countries like Singapore,” said Radhikaa Sarath Kumar.

Anupam Kher said the fee for the three-month diploma course would be Rs 1.4 lakh. At present Actor Prepares has four centres and is planning to add 4-5 in the next two years. “We are also planning to set up Actor Prepares in Malaysia and New York with a local partner,” said Kher.

Actor Prepares, has operations in Ahmedabad, Chandigrah and now in Chennai. Till now, around 500 students have been trained, he added.