You think Id put my reputation at stake for Sex?-Mukesh Chabr

"You think I'd put my reputation at stake for Sex?"

Enter struggler's paradise. In one of the many dingy and dusty bylanes that populate Aaram Nagar, a western suburb in Mumbai, there is a small white cabin with a sliding window that bears his name and designation in bold letters. Seated on the parapet outside his office are a dozen young hopefuls. Some are laughing and backslapping each other while the rest sport a look of nervousness, taking drags from their cigarettes in quick succession. They are all vying for the attention of one man: casting director, Mukesh Chabbra. He steps out and welcomes me into his office, ignoring the aspirants sitting outside. They seem to be conditioned to the wait...


The walls of his office are lined with posters of hit films he has worked on: from Chillar Party, Gangs of Wasseypur, Shahid to Kai Po Che. Piles of newspapers, CVs and headshots are scattered around his office. He claims to be attached to this space since his struggle in the industry began here.
Mukesh Chhabra has changed the dynamics of filmmaking by bringing in several actors, who fit their characters perfectly on screen. He discovered Sushant Singh Rajput for Kai Po Che and made him take the leap of faith from the small screen to the big. He fought with director Hansal Mehta to cast Rajkumar Rao as the lead in Shahid. Rajkumar Rao went on to earn critical acclaim and also won the 59th Idea Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics). He has discovered many such more talents: Nawazuddin Siddique, Richa Chaddha, Huma Qureshi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Amit Sadh... the list is endless.

Rajkummar Rao, Sushant Singh Rajput and Amit Sadh in kai Po Che! cast by Mukesh Chabbra

"After Sushant, the entire TV industry wants to get into films. They think they can make it big too," mocks Chabbra whilst ordering two cups of ginger tea. He continues, "Today's generation will build muscles, wax their chests and have manicure done but they will not concentrate on acting, which is the most important thing."
Chabbra in his career has auditioned close to 60,000 actors and worked on about 100 films. According to him, for an actor to make it in the industry, honesty and sincerity are of utmost importance. Says he, "I hate people who come with references. I'll meet them but once they start throwing weight around I shoo them away. And I hate those who lie about their age and acting background. Within 15 minutes into their audition I call off their bluff."


However, the list of wannabe actors who look for shortcuts to success is endless. Chabbra concedes that the casting couch does exist but shoots a rhetoric saying, "You think I'd put my reputation on stake just for sex? Girls have messaged me at 2 am in the morning inviting me for coffee but I don't respond to such messages."
Today, big directors such as Rajkumar Hirani, Vishal Bharadwaj, Imtiaz Ali, Anurag Kashyap swear by Chabbra's eye for talent. In fact, he considers Gangs of Wasseypur to be a turning point in his life and career. A couple of casting calls, which Chabbra made were challenged and some even rubbished by Anurag. But on Chabbra's insistence, Anurag saw the audition tapes and took back his words. Since then Anurag never questions Chabbra's decisions.


Hailing from New Delhi, Chabbra worked with the Theatre in Education at the National School of Drama (NSD) since he was just 19. It began with helping filmmakers cast local actors in small roles. He worked on Rang De Basanti, Chak De India and then Love Aaj Kal. Chabbra recalls, "People never took casting directors seriously at that point of time. So
I used to assist directors on their films and also handle the casting department." Vikas Bahl's Chillar Party was the first film that gave Chabbra recognition as a casting director. "Chillar Party and Gangs of Wasseypur were challenging," he says. Incidentally, Chabbra wishes to direct a film someday. "My script is ready. I'm just waiting for Anurag to read it."
As I leave, he bids me goodbye and on reflex turns towards one guy in the queue. He calls out to his assistant, "Yaar, isska left profile option le lo (take his left profile option)." The assistant nods and ushers the candidate into the small white cabin. Looks like another struggler is on his way to get a break.