Friday, January 28 2005 14:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Noted actor and former censor board chief, Anupam Kher, resigned as the chairman of the National School of drama on 'moral grounds'.

"I have decided to launch my own acting school, hence I thought it would be unethical and inappropriate of me to continue as the chairman of the institution, I have hence tendered my resignation on moral grounds," Kher said yesterday (Jan 27, 2005).

On his school, 'Actor Prepares', which will be launched in Mumbai on February 2, he said that the school would offer a three-month course in acting. "It is not going to be the swimming and horse riding teaching kind of school, because I think both have little to do with acting," he said.

There will be an attempt to ensure that the school imparted education of international standard, he said adding, that the visiting staff would include established teachers from across the world and veterans from the Indian industry.

"The thrust would be on personality development and since I myself have been a student of the school of drama a teacher myself, I think the education would be of good standard," he said.

The first batch of 18 students were selected from around 500 of those who had applied and 50 who had gone through an admission test. "We would also be offering scholarship to some students who were deserving," he said.

However, there were no promises of immediate casting once the course was over. "They will have to create their own career. You don't get a job automatically if you clear your MBBS exam, so why here," he said.