The casting director-actor, who has featured in shows like 'Paatal Lok' and 'Mirzapur', tells mid-day.com's Natasha Coutinho D'souza he has no plans of giving up casting
Abhishek Banerjee on his future projects
Abhishek Banerjee is a popular face on OTT, having featured in shows like 'Paatal Lok', 'Mirzapur', besides movies like 'Ajeeb Dastaans'. He has big ticket films like 'Dostana 2', 'Bhediya' and 'Rashmi Rocket' to look forward to this year. While being an actor was always the dream, he started out as a casting director and says he couldn’t be happier to feature in films for the same directors that he still continues to cast for.
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Going down memory lane, the actor recalls, “I started out by assisting Gautam Kishanchandani as a casting director. Milan Luthria’s 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbai' was my first assignment and he liked my work. Later he offered Gautam 'Dirty Picture', but he was busy writing his first script. Milan sir asked him if I could do it. The film went on to become a big hit and I became a known casting director with my partner Anmol Ahuja, hoping that one day a director would notice my acting skills. Despite that when I would attend auditions, I remember this famous casting director made me wait outside his office for an hour but didn’t even meet me. At times I would doubt myself because nobody was giving me selection calls but I was making selection calls to other actors."
Speaking about the big shift from working behind the scenes to facing the camera, Abhishek laughs as he says, “The good part is most people working at these production houses are my friends. I don’t need to break the ice with them like other actors or worry about what they think of me. The only thing that worries me is people shouldn’t say, 'Abhishek badal gaya.' That’s something you always hear once you become an actor. A lot of times the assistant directors forget that I’m an actor now and start badmouthing other actors, then they suddenly remember I’m an actor too. It’s an extremely funny situation but I love it.”
Abhishek Banerjee in Mirzapur
He goes on to say that working behind the scenes has given him a better understanding of cinema. “There is a lot more effort involved behind the camera and people who put in all the hard work deserve respect. They are as passionate about the film as actors are. Having read so many scripts over the years now helps me while choosing my own projects.”
While it was the Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao-starrer 'Stree', where he played ‘Jaana’, that was Abhishek’s big break in films, it was OTT that took his popularity to new heights. “TVF gave me my first break with 'Pitchers'. One of my dialogues from the show ‘Tu beer hai B*******’ went on to become a massive hit on social media. After that, every director I would cast for would request me to do a scene or two for them. One day when I was vacationing with my wife in Europe, Karan Anshuman offered me the role of Compounder in 'Mirzapur'. I refused because I didn’t want to play a don and suggested someone else from my team take it up but he was persistent because he needed a tall guy who looked threatening with Divyendu Sharma (Munna bhaiya.) Finally, the money convinced me because it would cover the expense of that Europe trip but then I realised I would have two beautiful scenes that would create an impact.”
Also read: Abhishek Banerjee: Very excited about having two movie announcements in one day
With OTT being the only medium of entertainment available during the lockdown, it came as a blessing to many actors who hadn’t got their due on the big screen, and Abhishek is no different. He admits, “On one hand there was a lockdown with panic all around, on the other hand, we had a new medium open up that gave artistes an opportunity to display their talent. Previously, we were dependent on first day collections as a mark of a film’s success. I could never relate to that as an actor, the artiste’s performance is the real mark of success. It’s always the character that made an actor a superstar. With OTT, people have started talking about the story and good performances again. At the same time, I truly believe the magic of cinema will never die.” The actor will next be seen in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s 'Ankahi Kahaniya' on Netflix.
Having started off as an actor in a blink-and-miss appearance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s 'Rang De Basanti' during college days, we hear today the actor is currently casting for his next. “Life has come full circle. When I saw him after so many years I was simply mesmerised because he’s like my first teacher. I had done one scene for him 14-15 years ago and today we are having creative discussions while sipping coffee together. I had tears in my eyes but I controlled myself because I wanted to come across as a professional.”
The actor and his partner Anmol are the names behind casting for films like 'Gabbar is Back', 'Toilet - Ek Prem Katha', 'Kalank' and many more. Today, the actor is looking forward to complete shooting for 'Dostana 2' starring Janhvi Kapoor, a film that was recently in the news after Kartik Aaryan was reportedly replaced by Akshay Kumar. “We shot for the film in Patiala before the lockdown and are yet to resume shooting. Meanwhile, I completed the shoot for 'Bhediya' with Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, and 'Rashmi Rocket' with Taapsee Pannu.”
Interestingly, it was Abhishek’s then fiancée-now wife Tina Norhona that inspired him to take his job seriously. “She’s been a super model and was the runner up on the reality show Get Gorgeous, she’s also an architect. I met her through a common friend and it was love at first sight. When I saw that she was running her company as an architect all by herself besides managing a modeling career, it inspired me to start my casting company Casting Bay, before that I was just a freelancer. Though Tina’s family didn’t understand my job it was easy convincing them after the first meeting because they understood I had the passion to do something in life. We had a traditional Bengali wedding as well as a Catholic beach wedding. Now they are my second family.”
Also read: 'Ankahi Kahaniya' brings you three unconventional tales of love on September 17
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