"After Mahadev, casting for 'Siya Ke Ram' has been very challenging." - Amrish Sharma

Challenged with the situation to bring on board a cast which would break through the way casting was ever done for mythological shows, Amrish has found success and is much appreciated for his work.

Published: Wednesday,Dec 02, 2015 08:40 AM GMT-07:00

Shachi Tapiawala Rathod

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Having handled casting for shows such as Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam, Ganesh Leela, Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann, Maayka - Saath Zindagi Bhar Ka, Sawaare Sabke Sapne - Preeto, Devon Ke Dev. Mahadev and The Adventures of Hatim, Casting director of Triangle Film Productions, Amrish Sharma had a big opportunity come his way when he was assigned the duty to cast fresh faces in Star Plus show Siya Ke Ram.

Challenged with the situation to bring on board a cast which would break through the way casting was ever done for mythological shows, Amrish has found success and is much appreciated for his work.

In a tete-a-tete with Tellybuzz, Amrish speaks about the challenges he encountered while casting for 'Siya Ke Ram' and how this opportunity has helped him grow in his career.

Amrish, please tell us what was criteria of casting for Siya Ke Ram?

The priority was to cast actors who can exhibit their talent naturally and project the assigned characters in the best possible way with minimal make-up. We were searching for actors who carried royalty in their personality in their real life. Only then would they be able to project it naturally on screen.

We all have seen mythological shows, which incorporate loud drama but in my belief, this show has changed the perception in the way mythological shows are viewed.

With the growing trend of launching mythological shows, there are some most commendable shows which have broken the barriers of the way these shows were viewed. Was there a challenge to live upto the standard of the shows launched these days?

After Devon Ke Dev Mahadev setting a standard of getting on board an exclusive cast, it has been extremely difficult to cast for Siya Ke Ram as the criteria was to bring on board fresh faces. We auditioned for 8 months in Kolkota, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. This is the first time an all new cast has been brought on board except for Ram.

Ram is an ideal character and a fresh face would not be able to compete with the way the character has been performed earlier. With the protagonist, Sita coming in as a fresh face we needed to balance the match with a popular 'audiences favorite' actor and hence we roped in Ashish Sharma.

You'll have brought on board a lot of theater artists...

Yes, there are many popular Marathi theatre artists such as Bhargavi Chirmule who have been brought on board.

The show is about Sita's perspective. So why a fresh face instead of a known popular television face who could assure to pull off a role and can get good viewership?

In my view, well known faces have already synced in to a particular role on daily soaps and it would be harder for people to accept the actor as Sita having seen her act as a wife or a daughter-in-law in a daily soap. Hence we decided to bring on board a fresh face. We auditioned a minimum of 350 girls before finalizing Madirakshi Mundle as Sita.

Mrunal Thakur was on the verge of being finalized. What happened?

No comments.

How has this show helped you enhance you career as a Casting Director?

This show has added a pivotal feather in my cap. This is a turning point of my career. I got an opportunity to meet a lot of actors, whom I have always wished to associate myself with and they have also credited me for the casting. My career graph has finally boosted up well and I now want to focus more on films.

Well done Amrish. We wish you all the luck for your career ahead!

Shachi Tapiawala Rathod