'Main actor hoon'

How different is a struggling actor in the world of Bollywood? Casting director Nandini Shrikent, of such films like Don, Rock On!! and Wake Up Sid, talks about portfolio pictures dumped in the binu00a0

The first film I ever cast was Farhan Akhtar's Lakshya. I did the casting on my own, but I got a lot of guidance from Zoya (Akhtar). It was exciting. I knew only the film stars, so in the process, I discovered who the other actors were in Mumbai. For a couple of months, I even auditioned without a script, so they used to come in and do their own pieces.

"There was this guy who came in and cried out, 'Main Jassi hoon!!! I am a drug addict!' He did this whole solo piece, crawling about on the floor. I didn't know what to dou00a0 I had to be all straight-faced.

"I remember my first job vividly. Because Lakshya was a war film, we auditioned a huge section of actors and then the TV boom happened and bam! They all became really famous. That felt nice, because I remember actors like Hiten Tejwani and Rajeev Khandelwal who auditioned for Lakshya.

Bad reviews

"I've cast about 14-15 films. I did one hit movie which I worked on for seven months, but when a new producer got on board, the director gave the credit to his wife. I also cast for a French film and an American movie this year, but both were shelved because of the recession.

"There are about four-five good casting directors in Bollywood; the rest are 'coordinators' who operate as agents and take a cut from the actor if he's hired for the part.u00a0

"During an audition, we film the actors and the director goes through our DVD of short-listed people for final approval. Sometimes, I'm shocked at the director's choice and wonder how he could see the person in that part. When I read reviews where they say that an actor was completely wrong for a part, it's horrible and I feel like hiding under the bed. I keep praying that no one reads that review, but the directors are quite sweet about it.

Who me? Audition?

"There are two kinds of actors who get called for auditions. There are those who are called specifically for a role. Some of them are well-known and get really upset when they're made to read for a part. In Hollywood, you read for roles. But here, there are actors who give us a hard time. They audition for key secondary roles and it's not that we haven't seen their work, but it's because the director needs to see if they actually fit the part.

"When I was new on the job, I was nervous of this type who walked in, saying 'tum kaun ho mera audition lene wali' and used to feel like crying in the bathroom. Now I'd never take that kind of attitude.

In the bin

"Then there is a section of actors who, in this really hot city, travel by the cheapest local transport to drop off pictures from production house after production house. Portfolio photos that they probably spent a bomb making. It's impossible to sort out thousands of photographs so like in the movie Luck By Chance, most of them end up in the bin.

"Struggling actors, mostly male ones, hang out together and over the years, you get familiar with the groups. They do ads together, they're the same age group, like the good old theatre lot, and they're often damn sweet. They help each other out. If one isn't in the right outfit, another will yell and say, 'Arre, isko ek shirt de do' and they will.

"These struggling actors may not beg, but they want to meet you, make eye contact with you and they all say the same thing, 'Main actor hoon'. Some of them walk in and you're like, 'Uh, did we call you?'

"There are different tactics that people try and it's really rough. I have to say that as the years go by, I've become a bit immune to the struggle. It's difficult; you're also trying to function and deliver, going through bad days or your director isn't okay with the people you're showing him. I get spammed with the same pictures from the same bunch of actors until my mail inbox gets jammed.

Thank you letters

"Occasionally, there are actors who stop you and tell you of their struggles or problems. I don't encourage that because it's an exercise in slamming your own self-esteem. I firmly tell them, 'We'll call you for sure if we have anything.' It's not like we're going to discriminate against you because you're not Bachchan.

"Yet it's awful to see them run from pillar to post. The one thing that Zoya introduced and Excel Productions still does is that we try to send all actors a thank you letter even if they are rejected. I can't tell you how much strugglers appreciate the fact that we acknowledge their effort.

"I also learnt to be more gentle after I worked on a UK television show called Mumbai Calling, where the British casting agents were just so polite and appreciative of every performance.

Casting couch

"I hear of a casting couch occasionally, but I've never seen one at my level. It's not fair to tarnish everyone, but there are people with power in the industry who promise actors roles this way.

"I've also heard of casting directors who take a fee from an actor just to include them in their database that's not right because casting directors are hired by production houses, not by the actors.

See it unfold

"The best part about casting is that you read the script, you see how the director was thinking when he selects each actor and you see his film unfold. It's super fun working with young directors.

"I'd love to cast a whole film, from top to bottom. Our industry is so star-driven that the lead roles are first decided, then we cast. That's not bad, but it's why I like to sometimes work on independent films."

What she's cast

Lakshya
Don
Rock On!!
Luck By Chance
Little Zizou (assisted director Sooni Taraporevala)
Barah Aana
Wake Up Sid
Happy
Mumbai Calling
Kartik Calling Kartik
Crooked (currently casting)
What she's worked on
Takshak (assistant director)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (assistant director)
A documentary with Arundhati Roy (assistant director)
The Bourne Supremacy (set dresser)
The Darjeeling Limited (assistant set decorator)