MUMBAI: Actor-film and maker Farhan Akhtar, who has helmed successful films such as Dil Chahta Hai and Don — The Chase Begins, admits that all directors and producers in the film industry have to go through a certain procedure for casting.
Casting is an integral part of a film’s process. “It is actually one of the most demanding processes; in terms of trying to get appointments, to get time,” he said.
“In the entire film industry, all producers and directors have to do jugaar [find shortcuts] for casting. Nothing can happen without that,” added the 39-year-old.
In fact, for his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai, he had pulled off a casting coup with big names from Bollywood, including Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Khanna and Preity Zinta.
“Casting for the 2001 blockbuster buddy film had been the toughest. I had to wait for so long for the casting of Dil Chahta Hai [to be finalised],” said Akhtar.
The film was a runaway hit at the box office and also won a National Award. Akhtar became a name to reckon with after its success.
“The fastest I have ever managed to cast anybody for a film was when I directed Don,” he revealed.
Don came out in 2006 and featured an all-star cast consisting of Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Boman Irani and Om Puri.
Meanwhile, Akhtar has roped in young actors for Fukrey; he brought on board those names who only recently made their debut in Bollywood and have a film or two to their credit. Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh, Varun Sharma, Ali Faisal, Richa Chadda, Vishakha Singh and Priya Anand will be featured in the film.
Fukrey hits theatres June 14 and the film-maker is hopeful the casting will prove to be beneficial for the movie.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2013.
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