National School of Drama in Delhi and Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India churned out professionally educated and trained actors through their three-year post-graduate programmes in acting.

But in 2013, there is an addition to list of institutes and a reduction in the number of years required for the course.

The AJK Mass Communication and Research Centre (better known as MCRC) at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi is offering a one-year full-time post-graduate diploma course in acting and the first batch will be ready for the stage later this month.

Danish Iqbal, a Delhi-based theatre person and an alumnus of NSD, was roped in this year by MCRC to be the coordinator for the new course.

?Acting can?t be taught or learned. It is a practice. NSD trains you thoroughly for theatre only. FTII prepares you for the camera alone. At MCRC, we train our students for all media. They also learn techniques for radio. We appreciate them working on the self rather than imposing our technique on them,? Iqbal says.

A known name in the Delhi theatre circuit, Iqbal has performed in plays like Andha Yug, Tughlaq and Karna-Warrior of the Sun.

Navnit Kumar, who was an actor with Delhi-based Asmita Theatre Group run by Arvind Gaur, turned to Jamia?s new course when he decided to take up acting more seriously. He says he didn?t even apply at NSD or FTII.

?Prior to joining this course, I thought acting meant ?copying?. But actually it means ?creating?. I was at Asmita and all I did was copy the director. But this full-fledged academic exercise has changed my perception of acting, even though I was an actor before I became a student of acting. I thought being with Gaur was enough but now I realise how important the theory of acting is in fine-tuning an actor. None of my classmates applied for the three-year courses at NSD and FTII because they consume three years of an aspiring actor?s life. Here, we get to learn more in less time and then we get on with our career,? Navnit says.

Due to its short duration, the course has also attracted students from diverse educational backgrounds.

Sanjeev Prasad, a post-graduate in Finance, is a case in point.

?I was always interested in acting. This course promised me more returns in less time as compared to other prestigious institutes of India. Hence, I made the switch,? he says.

Sanjeev has also made a documentary on global warming in English.

Iqbal elaborates on why students may prefer this course over others. ?I studied at NSD. I realise how much hard work one has to put in ? first to get there and then to pull along for three years. FTII is said to be heavy on the pocket. Our course is easy on the brain as well as the pocket. Rs 55,000 is all you need to spend for one full year,? he says.