How do you make the casting czar of Bollywood ecstatic in a moment and jittery in the next? First, offer him Jawan (2023), and then slip in that it will be helmed by Atlee, who is best known for his Tamil hits.
When Mukesh Chhabra was asked to consult Atlee, he got nervous. Not because he had to cast more than 150 people, but more because the relationship between casting directors and filmmakers is quite delicate. And, it is in the initial meetings that one figures out whether the pairing will work. Also, down south, there are no casting directors; the filmmakers do the casting. “But Atlee understood the strength of a casting director,” says Chhabra, “and the other advantage for me was that Bollywood was very new to Atlee.” It took him almost a month to understand Atlee. “When you are working with a director like Atlee who is not from here, especially when he has never done a Hindi film, it takes a while to just come around to his way of thinking,” he explains. “I figured that to crack this commercial film, we have to fill it up with a great ensemble cast, with new and established faces. I had earlier worked on big films like PK (2014), Sanju (2018), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015)... this was very different in terms of scale and imagination. I had eight assistants on this film, and each focused on managing groups of ten actors.”
Chhabra was impressed by Atlee’s ability to gauge an actor from his or her photograph. “Somehow, he never saw an audition,” he says. “He would simply see the face and know whether this person could act or not. That’s how we found Aaliyah Qureishi, Sanjeeta (Bhattacharya), Lehar (Khan) and Riddhi Dogra.” And, it paid off—Jawan became the second-highest grossing Bollywood film.
Denne historien er fra October 22, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 22, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A golden girl
One of India's most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
The interest in wine is growing delightfully in India
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India's wine industry. This was the Robinson's fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India's only Master of Wine.
United in the states
Indian-Americans coming together under the Democratic umbrella could get Harris over the line in key battlegrounds
COVER DRIVE
Usage-driven motor insurance policies offer several benefits
GDP as the only measure of progress is illogical
Dasho Karma Ura, one of the world's leading happiness experts, has guided Bhutan's unique gross national happiness (GNH) project. He uses empirical data to show that money cannot buy happiness in all circumstances, rather it is family and health that have the strongest positive effect on happiness. Excerpts from an interview:
India is not a controlling big brother
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay considers India a benevolent elder sibling as the \"big brotherly attitude\" is happily missing from bilateral ties. He thinks the relationship shared by the two countries has become a model of friendship not just for the region, but for the entire world. \"India's attitude is definitely not of a big brother who is controlling and does not allow the little brother to blossom and grow,\" says Tobgay in an exclusive interview with THE WEEK.
Comrade with no foes
Lal Salaam, Comrade Yechury-you were quite a guy!
Pinning down saffron
In her first political bout, Vinesh Phogat rides on the anti-BJP sentiment across Haryana
MAKE IN MANIPUR
Home-made rockets and weapons from across the border are escalating the conflict
SAHEB LOSES STEAM
Coalition dynamics and poor electoral prospects continue to diminish Ajit Pawar's political stock