Dhurandhar: The Revenge is one of the largest films slated to come out in Indian cinema because of the vast amount of anticipation surrounding this movie, many people have been talking about the casting of this film. Recently, with the news that Mukesh Chhabra, the Casting Director, had completed his casting work on this project, he discussed how long he took searching for actors and how much time he spent working with Aditya Dhar (the Director) in the entire process of casting.
Mukesh explained that it took approximately two full years to complete the entire casting process, largely due to the high number of characters needed for this story. Over 300 different characters exist over the two parts of this movie, and therefore, it can be very difficult to find a match for actors that match the characters. In addition, Mukesh’s team worked many hours to create a match between an actor’s appearance and personality.
Also, during this time, Mukesh explained how well he and Aditya Dhar worked together. Although they may have had some conflicting ideas, they were able to have productive conversations, which led to the benefit of developing mutual respect for each other. For instance, Mukesh noted that Aditya has a very clear vision of how he wanted his film to be; this helps Mukesh determine which actor would best fit each character.
Talking about their working style, Mukesh said, “Aditya and I have been friends, so we can fight a bit. We can reach that common ground.” He added that there were many discussions, but the clarity in Aditya’s ideas helped him imagine the characters properly and cast them without confusion.The casting director feels that the film’s casting is getting appreciation because audiences have truly connected with it. He believes the response shows that the effort put into choosing the right actors has paid off.
“This is our reward. We worked so hard on getting these actors right, and now people are discussing who played Atiq Ahmed, and where did Babu Dakait come from? It means they have connected with the story and the characters. The work has been very detailed. Nothing has been done on the surface. There is so much detailing. Of course, half my work was done with Aditya’s brief because it was so well-detailed,” he adds.
What makes Dhurandhar’s casting stand out
Mukesh Chhabra says the film’s casting worked well because he and Aditya Dhar had full control without outside interference.
“Here it was just him (Aditya Dhar) and me,” he explains, “Jab kaafi log casting mein ghuste hain, tabhi casting kharab hoti hai (When too many people are involved in casting, then it all goes wrong). In such cases, so many people give so much gyan.”
Overall, the film’s casting has received a lot of appreciation, especially because even small roles feel real and well-chosen, showing the level of detail and effort put into the process.