Human resource manager for actors

Human resource manager for actors

Mukesh Chhabra, 28, never had to give much thought to what he wanted to do in life. Way back in school he had made up his mind to pursue the love of his life — theatre. Though a graduation from Delhi University was “barely managed”, he was more serious about the diploma in acting that he was pursuing at the National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi.

Chhabra did a six-and-a-half-year stint with the Theatre-in-Education at the NSD. He conducted children’s workshops and cast them for ad films. His first break as casting director came with Richie Mehta’s Canadian film Amal in 2007. “Set in modern-day New Delhi, it tells the story of a poor autorickshaw driver, Amal Kumar. I did the entire casting for the film,” says Chhabra.

One of his biggest films is Rang De Basanti, for which he picked locals from Delhi, where a large portion of the film was shot. “I knew almost all the actors in Delhi and that came in handy,” he says.

The other movies Chhabra has been involved with are Hijack and Yuvvraaj as casting assistant, Love Aaj Kal as casting director, Kaminey as casting associate and most recently, Teen Patti as casting assistant.

So, what does a casting director do? He is a representative of the director, almost a mini-director, whose job is to help place the right actor for the role. Chhabra’s job, therefore, is to keep his eyes open for interesting faces.

“It is a very challenging task to find a new actor, a new face every time you do a film. I consciously try to avoid people who’ve done a film in the past,” he says.
Casting is also perhaps the most important part of the film as its fate depends on the actors. If the cast is able to create an impression on the audience, you have been successful. “That is the litmus test,” says Chhabra.

A casting director needs to spend time with the actor he is auditioning and even help him perform better. He needs to have a basic understanding of the film’s script, plays, performance, know how to judge performance and the script, he says.

“These days it’s Facebook that has been coming to my rescue. It’s a platform where I get to interact with a lot of new people, especially youngsters,” adds Chhabra.

How much time does it take to select someone for a role? “On an average, I get to audition 200-300 people for the lead actor or actress. My recent film, Chillar Party, directed and produced by Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Behl, is about nine children who reside in the same society and try to save a street dog from a politician who wants to kill it. I travelled the length and breadth of the country to audition 7,600 children. The entire process took me four months.”

At the end of the day, it is a very satisfying job. “You almost feel like the director,” says Chhabra, adding “I don’t think I can do anything else.”

Another famous name in this field is Loveleen Tandan, the casting director for the Academy Award winner, Slumdog Millionaire. Rubiana Ali (young Latika) and Azharuddin Ismail (young Salim) were her discoveries. Tandan, who did her graduation from Hindu College and studied film-making at Jamia, got her first break in 1998 with Deepa Mehta’s Earth. Monsoon Wedding by Mira Nair followed in 2001.
What's it about?
A casting director is a human resource manager for actors. S/he works in the fields of theatre, ad films and commercial films and deals with casting the crew or performers for a project. A casting director’s basic job is to audition potential actors and zero in on the one who fits the look of the character – though the final casting decision rests with the director. Casting is often the platform, the first step towards becoming a film director. It allows one to work with directors and learn the elements of film-making
Clock Work
9 am: Wake up; call up assistants
10 am: Reach audition venue; check scripts readied by assistants
11.30 am: Basic audition round starts; observe and take notes
12.30 pm: If an actor shows promise, take audition personally. Attend auditions without a break
8 pm: Tapes sent to studios to be made into DVDs; select candidates to be called again the following day
11 pm: DVDs arrive. Go through all audition disks; make notes
Midnight: Go home
The Payoff
. A casting director gets between Rs 2 lakh to 3 lakh a month, depending on the number of films (commercial and ad) he does in a month
. An associate casting director makes Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh
. Assistant casting director gets Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 a month
. Junior assistant/assistant get Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 a month
Skills
. Eye for talent
. Excellent memory
. Interest in films, theater and literature
. Understand the script
. Love meeting and interacting with people
. Loads of patience
How do i get there?
One should be interested in theater, learn as much as one can about actors, actresses and films. It helps if you know a few film celebrities personally. One can start out by looking for training opportunities with casting directors who may be looking for associates or assistants.
Institutes & urls
There are no formal institutes for casting. One learns on the job.
Pros & Cons
. You earn name and fame in the business
. You get to create stars
. You are associated and on familiar terms with the best in the film industry
. Work for almost 20 hours a day

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