Finding The Finest Among Innumerable: Casting Directors Continue To Earn Cachet

0
259
dangal

The fact that Bollywood films are entertaining and amusing in nature has more than one reasons behind it. The part that is noticed least is the role that the casting directors play. Apart from the style of storytelling, location and music, what makes a story intriguing is the way in wthe actors give shape to the emotions. Dialogues like ‘Jab tak hum apne inteqam se azaad nahi ho jaate … tab tak koi azaadi hum mein azaad nahi kar sakti’ (from the movie Haider) get instilled in the mind because of the attachment that the thespianism creates. Apparently, the entire cinema industry owes a debt to the casting directors for all they have done, for all they do and will do for the years to come.

Starting from the man of unparalleled discoveries i.e. Mukesh Chhabra for Gangs Of Wasseypur to Nandini Shrikent for Life of Pie to Shruti Mahajan for bajirao Mastani to Honey Trehan for blockbuster Raes – Bollywood today is compelled to give them space – a much deserved and needed one – the space that fetched awards, the space that gifted box office collections, the space that finds the best talent capable of delivering dialogues like ‘Sangam do bar jana chahiye, ekbar akele aur dusri bar kisi ke saath.’ (Masaan)

The process has become more transparent”, says the casting director of films that steered the box office, Nandini Shrikent for Life of Pie, Yeh Jaawani Hain Deewani and Student Of The Year. The work they do gets clearly reflected when they say, ‘Whether I’m in a shopping mall, coffee shop or my car, I’m always on the lookout for fresh faces. Sometimes, I’ve even disrupted traffic to meet some random person I spotted’ (Nandini Shrikent) or “Only after Gangs of Wasseypur (Part 1 & 2), when I found 384 actors, which took me one year, was when everyone really noticed my work. I think that film changed the casting director’s image because everyone came out of it thinking, “Who are those actors?”” The exclusivity of their job lies in the art of choosing the correct face, pertaining to endless queues holding mobs of aspirants to managing overflowing messages and phone calls.

Today, it is intensely realized that the casting requires a specialized proficiency that involves thorough research on the film followed by a painstaking study of the society for the sake of bringing out the appropriate face for a character which might have even 2 minutes of screen time.

dangal

The huge success of the newly released film Dangal emerges to share the ample of the spotlight on Mukesh Chhabra as he speaks of his untiring effort put into choosing the cast of junior Geeta and Babiat Phogat in Dangal and that took him more than a year.

LEAVE A REPLY