When the Best of Bollywood Directors (Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali, Vishal Bhardwaj) Want to Cast for Their New Films, Their Roads Lead to One Man — Mukesh Chhabra
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UP CLOSE The New Godfather When the best of Bollywood directors (Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali, Vishal Bhardwaj) want to cast for their new films, their roads lead to one man — Mukesh Chhabra. By Ekta Mohta Photograph by Rohit Gupta wall in Mukesh Chhabra’s studio, in Aram Nagar, Mumbai, is covered with messages from second- rung stars of the Hindi film industry — Huma Qureshi, Sushant Singh Rajput, Rajkummar Rao, Aditi Rao Hydari, Jimmy Shergill, Swara Bhaskar. Of these, one message, by Vineet Kumar Singh, who played Danish Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur, stands out: “God selected you to find those who are talented.” When we meet, the 35-year-old Chhabra is wearing a white T-shirt, tinted spectacles and a five o’clock shadow. “My face has become like this because I’m auditioning so much and rejecting so many people. I’ve become a mean person,” he says, softly and sweetly, in north Indian-accented English. His studio is like anA immigration centre, where 43 employees guide hopefuls arriving every minute. “Three hundred people come to my studio every day. Out of that, one person will know how to act. Without knowing their craft, they want a role. In India, everyone wants to be an actor — reporters, RJs, cops, my doctor. I’m like, what is happening in this country?” In 2015 alone, Chhabra has cast films such as Badlapur, Bombay Velvet, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Masaan, Shaandaar, Tamasha and Aligarh; his roll call of earlier films include Shahid, Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, Kai Po Che, Chennai Express, Hasee Toh Phasee, Rockstar, Bhoothnath Returns, Highway, Haider, Ugly, PK and many others. It is an impressive list, and Chhabra has every right to be boastful when he says, “How many people get to interact with every big director in the country? I’m the only one who’s working with everyone.” Chhabra, though, is more than just a casting director in the classical sense — he also trains and conducts extensive “Many struggling workshops with newcomers. When Nikhil Advani cast Athiya Shetty and Sooraj Pancholi in Hero, one of the first things actors can’t approach he did was send them to Chhabra for a crash course in acting. As director Hansal Mehta says, “I had no idea casting Dharma Productions or Yash Raj Films. directors made such a difference to film-making until I met Mukesh.” Earlier newcomers Chhabra’s skills have much to do with his career trajectory. A decent cricketer in his student days, his passion was used to go to Ram acting. He graduated from Delhi University with an acting diploma from Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, following Gopal Varma’s office, which he had an eight-year acting and teaching stint with Theatre-in-Education, the children’s acting school of the but now they come to National School of Drama. Following an ill-advised move to NDTV (“I lasted 53 days”), Chhabra moved to Mumbai my studio” in 2007, struggling like so many actors who people his studio today. “Eight of us used to share a MHADA flat in Four Bungalows.” He set up Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company in 2008, and the first film that came his way was a forgettable Rishi Kapoor film called Chintuji. It was Nitish Tiwari and Vikas Bahl’s National award-winning children’s film,Chillar Party, that kick-started his career. “Rucha Pathak was a creative producer at UTV. She knew I had worked with kids 100 DECEMBER 2015 • MW DECEMBER 2015 • MW 101 UP CLOSE a lot. She randomly asked me if I was interested. I told her I was worked on the film. Plus, Aamir Khan — to satisfy him with your dying to do casting,” he says. It was also the film that first showed work is another job. After the casting was over, Aamir called me and his unconventional ways of casting. He auditioned more than said, ‘Mazaa aa gaya.’ You work for that one line.” 20,000 kids, some of them from the streets, including a kid named Not that Chhabra needs Khan looking over his shoulder to do a Irfan Khan who played one of the leads. It was a quality that was good job; he's inflicted with self-motivation. “He’s so passionate noticed by Anurag Kashyap, who was then starting work on his about getting the right actor for the right role that his enthusiasm magnum opus Gangs of Wasseypur; Chhabra was asked to work on equates that of the director,” says Vishal Bhardwaj, for whom Chhabra the film. “I cast 384 people in that film, 15 of whom were druggies,” has worked on Haider and the upcoming Rangoon. For Bajrangi Chhabra says. “Leaving Manoj [Bajpai] and Nawazuddin [Siddiqui], Bhaijaan, for which he found the doll-like Harshaali Malhotra, he everyone was new. It took me ten months to cast Wasseypur. Actors says, “My aim was to cross the benchmark set by Masoom.” When khatam hi nahi hote the. Uss film ke baad ek kranti aa gayi casting I compliment her work in the movie, he says, “I’d done a workshop mein. Everyone was like, ‘Who has found so many actors?’ People with her for almost ten days. I realised that when her mouth is shut, then understood that there’s a boy from Delhi, knows a lot of actors she looks even more beautiful. When she has to say dialogues, she and thinks in the right direction.” does really bad acting.” Malhotra, in fact, is in the studio when I visit. “She wants more or the longest time, the casting director was a phantom work,” says Chhabra. “Uncle mujhe cast kar do. Parents are also in the Hindi film industry. Producers and directors like that. They want to make money [off of her].” After working would call up stars for the lead roles, with so many child actors, Chhabra is adept while assistant directors would find at handling grown-ups’ tantrums. During Kai nobodies for the other speaking parts. WHAT I'VE Po Che, Abhishek Kapoor (Gattu) had been FThe only way to catch a break in the industry was LEARNT condescending in their first meeting. “Gattu is a by way of a horny producer. To avoid any instances Bandra boy, full stylish. He’s like, ‘How will you or even allegations of the casting couch, Chhabra’s do this? You’re from Wasseypur na? My film is not studio is wired like the Bigg Boss house — there UP-Bhojpuri.’ Every director thinks I have a set are 18 CCTV cameras; this interview, too, is being genre. That I can only cast for garib-looking films. recorded. “Anyone can say anything about you, I said, ‘Give me 45 days.’ I shortlisted 70 people. whether it’s a boy or a girl. The actors you’ve cast Anurag Kashyap has Then I shortlisted the three and did several are your friends; the actors you haven’t are not. taught me to trust workshops with them. I showed the auditions to I’ve received threatening calls; people have broken the actor. Even if Gattu and he said, ‘Done.’” my car window. Just to be safe and not create any they’re not great, Chhabra has now become selective of the projects they’ll act misunderstandings or stories, I have done this.” he works on. “I say no to 10-15 scripts every month. His studio is an open house — anyone can walk I look at the script, not at the budget. I don’t feel in, mugshots in hand. “Earlier they used to go to as happy with money as I do with respect. I did Ram Gopal Varma’s office, but now they come here. Masaan at the same time as Bajrangi Bhaijaan. I I don’t want to repeat any actor. My attempt is to want to be a part of good cinema, not some rubbish bring as many people as I can into films. The more entertainer film.” His success, though, has come at people get work, the better it is. Many struggling Imtiaz Ali has taught the cost of romantic regrets. “It’s a very stressful actors can’t approach Dharma Productions or Yash me how to talk to job. You don’t have a personal life. Break-ups actors with love Raj Films. I feel at least I’ve done one good thing. have happened. Your family stops talking to you. An actor can come to my studio, there is place You live a broken life. From morning to night, for them to sit, they’re treated with respect, and you’re only thinking about actors — I have to test someone is ready to take their audition.” this guy, I have to change this actor, this scene is This doesn’t mean Chhabra’s in his studio all day, not working right now. The entire day people are wearing a housecoat and filing his nails. He spent calling, messaging, visiting, expecting. I feel very three months in Bihar while casting for Gangs of Rajkumar Hirani — claustrophobic. Even if the smallest actors are not Wasseypur; two months in Gujarat for Kai Po Che; how detailed nice, I feel guilty that this scene is not working you need to be in two months in Rajasthan for PK; and recently, a your work because of me. Many people don’t pay attention year in Haryana for Aamir Khan’s new film Dangal. to smaller roles, but honestly, they’re the ones who Directed by Nitish Tiwari, Dangal is the true story make a film.” of wrestlers Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari, with It’s because of this thinking that film-makers Khan playing their old man.