Hello, I’m Mishti Ohri from Filmy Tree. Shivam Gupta, a well known casting director is going to be with us today. In 2015, he came to Bombay to pursue his dream of becoming a casting director, starting off with the very famous movie Ki & Ka, and has been casting ever since.
Q1. Tell us about your story. How did you become a casting director?
Ans. I used to live in Delhi and practiced theater there. We didn’t have money at that time. I used to do camera work sometimes because that used to fetch me some money. That’s how life was.
Then one day, in 2011, my friend asked me if I wanted to cast a film. And my first question to him was, “Will it be paid?” And he said, “yes. They’ll give you 6000 rupees”.
I was of course excited and totally willing to cast. Then I read the script, I went through the process of learning how to cast, and I really liked it alot. That’s how I started knowing things and my interest level in it just went up. That’s how I realized I wanted to become a casting director.
Q2. When a movie with a new concept has to be shot, and the kind of role to be played is very different, how do you select an actor for that role which they have never done before? Is it pure trust?
Ans. See again, once you get to know the vision of the director plus you already know the actors in the industry and their acting versatility and you know if we give an actor this type of role we can probably break the pattern, that’s how we come up with something different. Be it anything, even when it comes to cooking, for example we know who can make the food tastier and who cannot. So that’s how it is. There’s a character and the casting director has to think over it and make out who’ll fit in it the best.
Plus we know each other, there are always auditions going on, we meet actors regularly, so we know.
Q3. That’s like talking about actors who are already in the industry. But when it comes to casting someone who’s never been in a movie or any web series, then how do you realize if they can fit in the role or not?
Ans. That’s all based on how well they perform in the audition. Are they confident? Can they get a hold of the character? I cast a lot of newcomers and my idea is to judge them on how much conviction they have, how much theater they have done and what they can add to the character.
Q4. Since the role of an actor is so critical, has it ever happened that you casted somebody and they didn’t live up to your expectations or they weren’t right?
Ans. See, that’s a very dangerous situation, plus it happens very less. But yes, it has happened where we felt that way, but at the moment we have to make them act anyway. Plus then we have to find alternatives, we cut a few scenes here or there. We always try our best that something like it never happens.
Q5. So how do you think this judgment of whether an actor is suitable for a role or not comes? Is it pure talent or does it come only with experience?
Ans. It’s experience, of course. But you need to have that eye to spot the talent and an eye to catch the vision of the director too. You should have the idea how to brief a role to an actor and so on. So, I think it comes with expertise.
Q6. Personally, what do you prefer – trying out new actors with not much experience or playing it safe with the older and experienced ones.
Ans. I think both, it depends on the director, the producer and their requirement. We work on both and my idea is to basically work with good actors, theater actors and also to focus on what a project needs basically.
Q7. Tell us something about SlumGolf and your upcoming projects?
Ans. So, right now we’re doing a show that’s SlumGolf for Amazon. And we’re working on a show that’s going to be released on Netflix. Then we’re also working on a movie with Manoj Bajpayee sir. My recent show that’s coming up soon is with Nitya Mehra on Amazon. Then I’m turning into a producer too. So there are a lot of things lined up.
