'Freedom at Midnight' casting director Kavish Sinha: ‘We don’t even have a category at awards’

(From left) Sidhant Gupta, Chirag Vohra and Rajendra Chawla play Nehru, Gandhi and Sardar Patel respectively in Freedom at Midnight

Finding that one actor, who is right for the role, from a sea of millions is tough. But Kavish Sinha believes that casting directors are the lucky ones who get a ringside view of what it takes to crack Bollywood. "[Aspiring actors] walk into my office and ask, ‘Kuch chal raha hai kya?' [Months later], the world sees them shining, but we've seen the struggles that preceded it," says the casting director, who recently put together the ensemble for Freedom at Midnight.

Kavish Sinha

The historical drama sees Sidhant Gupta of Jubilee (2022) fame step into the shoes of Jawaharlal Nehru, while Chirag Vohra and Rajendra Chawla portray Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel respectively. The series could be well another example of OTT bringing merit, over stars, to the fore. Yet, Sinha rues that most award shows don't recognise their efforts. "We don't even have a category. Sometimes, even actors miss out on mentioning [us] when they win. So, our high remains in the satisfaction we feel when someone we picked from that knock on the door [ends up] on the screen. It's the biggest award we can get, because there is no award really."

It helps that the casting directors - from Panchami Ghavri, who cast for Call Me Bae, to Anmol Ahuja, who worked on Panchayat - operate as a close-knit community. "We consult each other. At a recent award ceremony, when Anmol won for Jubilee, we all showed up. We have our own ecosystem, and we never forget that we are working for actors' aspirations, a lot of which are dashed. We take that responsibility seriously. I wish everyone would give us the same respect as well."