And as an assistant, you watch and learn so much. Also, I was an assistant in the true sense of the word. I would never stay with stars in five star hotels. Instead, I would live in tents, sit on the ground, have a bath with groundwater, go without food for long, travel by second class. More importantly, I got to watch the best of actors like Rekha, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor.
Film is by and large a director's medium.
And every actor should understand a director's mind, how he expresses himself verbally and then visually. Only then can he give his best. It's very essential for every actor to know the medium with all its aspects like cinematography, sound, music and the intricacies of production. I have been to an acting school too and undergone the usual training with a dance master, a fight master. But all these things are just to learn the techniques and skills which will help an actor.