He is the casting director of films like Lootera, Shanghai, Shor in the City, LSD and more. And also the man who has created extensive workshops for the cast of NH10, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, Daawat-E-Ishq, Queen, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl and counting. In an industry largely driven by stars, he is a technician who shapes a film’s character, tunes its performers and gives coherence to its many voices. He was in Bengaluru this week to conduct an acting workshop and talked to us about why crafting actors is important
On being a casting director..
The idea has become more recognised in the last 7-8 years or so. The first credit that I’m aware of was Tigmanshu Dhulia who cast for Bandit Queen, 21 years back.
On films finally looking beyond the star system..
I’d like to believe that online torrents have a big role to play in this! When one watches only Hollywood or Indian films then the imagination of an aspiring filmmaker can sometimes be limited. But availability of world cinema on your laptop, makes one realise the immense possibilities that cinema has to offer. And the ones who get inspired by it, understand that cinema is not just about charismatic faces who are there to provide entertainment. There are many such young filmmakers around and when they make a film, they push the envelope on every department, including casting. And thus the change. Soon to be released Court is a great example of that.
On how international cinema can inspire our makers..
I remember an anecdote from director Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s life – He went to see a Kurosawa classic Rashomon with a couple of his friends (I think Bimal Roy was one of the friends). On their late night bus journey back, they all sat quietly, still mesmerised. At the end of the journey, Mr. Mukherjee said, ‘Even we need to create something as powerful and beautiful as this.’ And that’s when he started writing Anand, now a classic.
On the process of casting..
Most directors don’t talk too much about the characters initially. The discussions begin once the auditions start. Also, I’ve realised that initial talks do not help. A director might say I want realistic acting. So when I achieve that with an actor, while watching the audition, the director may say it’s too drab. For me, the insightful part is the reaction to the auditions that helps me gauge what the director truly wants. Because we all use the same words to describe what we need. Say – ‘I want a good actor’. But my definition and the director’s definition of a good actor may vary. If it varies too much I may offer to step out of the project. But if it varies slightly then its my job to incorporate the director’s sensibility and deliver the best actor within the restrictions that I have.
On the freedom to cast..
I’ve been fortunate that directors I’ve worked with have trusted me in my first meeting with them. And it’s more of a collaborative process. Yes, sometimes there are healthy disagreements. But at the end of the day, I do not like to push too much as I believe it’s the director’s film and he/she knows best. Ultimately, if we disagree, I’ll put forth my reservations against the director’s decision and then it becomes the director’s call. But in most of my films I’d say about 90-95 per cent of the cast comes from our mutual decision.
On successful casting..
I hope every single casting decision I’ve taken has been beneficial to the film in some minuscule way. But speaking of ‘success’ specifically, maybe introducing Rajkummar Rao in LSD would be a successful decision as the decision added a good new actor to the film fraternity and also generated funding for some small films on the basis of his brand name.
On acting workshops..
Acting workshops are more exclusive and newer than casting. But slowly a demand is rising. Makers have started budgeting it in their movie-magic sheet. Which probably is a sign that it is gaining popularity.
Most established actors I have workshopped have been open to the idea. And even more open after they’ve gone through the process and experienced how the workshop can enhance their preparation for a particular film.
There are always exceptions who are quite skeptical or just belong to a different school of acting and thus a match in the workshop is not always possible. In such scenarios, I’ll try my best to understand the actor’s apprehension, fear and/or insecurity and then work around that. If that doesn’t work out, I will post a discussion with the director, pull out from workshopping that particular actor and focus on the others.
On Lootera..
In Lootera, Ranveer and I did about 10 days of work. Almost half of the effort was in inculcating what we call thehraav in him as his natural instinct is to exploit his strength i.e. his energy. Ranveer enjoys the process of a workshop immensely and we did explore quite a bit of the character together. A workshop is most fruitful and enjoyable when the actor has willingness to explore, learn and grow.
On workshops for NH10 and Byomkesh..
In NH10, the idea was to broaden the divide between the urban upper middle class couple versus the rural ideology. I spent a week with Anushka and Neil and then a week with the men who chase Anushka’s character.
I did not want these people to even meet in the workshop and suggested to Navdeep that they meet directly on set. The exercises and improvisations devised for the two primary groups was akin to workshopping for two separate films.
On Byomkesh, I did not do anything specific to adjust to the periodic sensibility, except that whenever an actor did anything that ‘seemed’ too modern and contemporary in gesture or speech, I would correct the actor and ask him/her to try it again. Apart from that through characters we explore various facets of human nature, thought and emotion; which somehow hasn’t changed in centuries, much less in the last 70 odd years. And my job was to explore the same for this particular story. Apart from that a majority of my focus was on prepping Divya Menon, as she was a non-actor before this film.
On directorial dreams..
All through my casting and workshopping years and even before that, I’ve been writing films, making shorts and I was associate director on Lootera and Titli. I’m currently pitching one of my scripts and writing two more. I gave up casting two years ago to give my directorial career a full time attention. But I intend to continue doing acting workshops for films, as they do not demand as much of one’s time as casting.
On the acting workshops in Bengaluru..
We had a three full-day workshop. It wasn’t long enough to change ideologies in an actor, but I shared some exercises and techniques that I have learnt over the years by working with actors.
I understand the medium of cinema and do know how unprepared and lost an actor can feel on a fast-paced film set. Thus, the workshop included sharing techniques that they can utilise within minutes to prepare themselves.
Email: jumbooworkshops@gmail.com | info@tulseapictures.com
with The New Indian Express Reema Moudgil works for The New Indian Express, Bangalore, is the author of Perfect Eight, the editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul-Indian Women, an artist, a former RJ and a mother. She dreams of a cottage of her own that opens to a garden and where she can write more books, paint, listen to music and just be silent with her cats