After the success of Dhurandhar 2, casting director Mukesh Chhabra told that he got this position after 20 years of experience and 300 films. He rejected Instagram casting and insisted on auditions and selected 300+ people for the film.
Tales of Dhurandhar: After the massive success of Dhurandhar: The Revenge, casting director Mukesh Chhabra is enjoying a special and defining phase of his career. He said in an interview, it took me 20 years to reach here and during this time I have worked on more than 300 films.
The journey started with Rang De Basanti
Mukesh Chhabra started his career with Rang De Basanti. He told that in the last few years the method of casting in Bollywood has completely changed. Earlier, there were the same 3-4 faces in every film. Same villain, same supporting character. Now the audience gets to see new faces. Nowadays, almost every big director, even if he is making a commercial film, works with a casting director.
Clear opinion on Instagram casting
These days there is a debate going on in the industry regarding casting through social media and influencers. On this, Mukesh Chhabra said, “I don’t look for talent from Instagram. I start work only when I get a script. I believe in auditions and finding talent at the ground level.”
Difficulty in playing the role of ‘Rahman Dacoit’
Casting for Dhurandhar: The Revenge, directed by Aditya Dhar, was not easy. Chhabra told that many actors refused to be a part of the film because they did not want to work in a multi-starrer film. Especially finding the right actor for an important character like “Rahman Dacoit” was very difficult. Chhabra told, when I called Akshay Khanna, he first said ‘Are you crazy?’ But when she heard the story, she said yes, saying ‘fantastic’. Similarly R. Madhavan also soon joined the project. I told Madhavan that we needed only 10–12 days and he immediately agreed.
Different thinking regarding casting
Regarding casting, Mukesh Chhabra says, I don’t think about acting. I just think about casting. If an actor is right for the role, I choose him, whether his acting is perfect or not.
More than 300 auditions and 2 years of hard work
A lot of hard work went into the casting for Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Chhabra told that he wanted to cast every small and big character seen on screen himself. Our team worked for about 2 years and auditioned more than 300 people.
Searching for new talent: Sara Arjun
New talent also got an opportunity through this film, in which Sara Arjun’s name is special. According to Chhabra, when I saw her audition, I was surprised. The scene where she asks Ranveer Singh if he is an Indian agent was her audition. Today, when Dhurandhar: The Revenge has become a huge success both at the box office and cultural level, casting is also being recognized as an important art. Mukesh Chhabra’s hard work and his thinking have proved how big a role right casting plays in the success of any film.