MUMBAI:  Television had always been the grandest of mediums and has been the audience's go-to for entertainment. The entertainment landscape has changed a lot over the years. 

Now, audiences want fresh tales of love and drama and there is a new barrage of actors taking over TV shows. While the longevity of shows has gone out, the entry of new-age thinkers has definitely helped to tell the stories of hope and entertainment to the audiences.

To create a successful project, actors, actresses, casting directors, producers, directors, and everyone else works together as a team.

Among all of these, casting directors are essential to develop new talent and identifying the right actor for a part.

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Many casting directors have achieved success in this industry through their talent and dedication. Surraj Mahajan is the casting director responsible for creating the perfect ensemble for a lot of your favourite shows, the recent being Dil Diyan Gallan on Sab TV.

TellyChakkar got in touch with the casting director to talk about his process, journey and more.

What are the things that you look for in a budding actor and what are the unexpected things that happen?

Sometimes we get people who surprise us, because maybe at first glance we judge them wrong. We are human beings as well. Sometimes if we are doubtful whether the actor will fit for a role that we are looking for, we make them work with the scenes from the project that we are casting for and if they fit the role, that is the best thing that can happen, even for us. That becomes the X factor because we share a lot of options and take a lot of auditions. It is only after going through a lot of process that things get finalised and a lot of the times what ends up happening is unexpected. Someone unexpected gets chosen if they fit the vision of the creators, and with that, we have move on to next project. 

What are the qualities that an upcoming actor should have?

I think actors should have a quality that make them stand out. They should have skills, and also work on those skills. They should go with the looks and focus more of their talents and harness those ones. 

What are the challenges that you have faced and what advice would you give to the upcoming casting directors and actors?

One should always do something different and new, especially if you want to do something different as an actor. You need to have that x-factor and this is what I have learned that one should realize their potential. It should not force things and one thing that I realized early on that acting was not my cup of tea. But I was rather good at understanding people and judging them, so when I chose this field, I went through a rite of passage of an intern to associate to casting director and in this passage. In this journey, I met a lot of people who do ask me for advice and what they should do but they don’t always listen, and we also face challenges day in and day out but such is the job”.

Surraj has been a very active and influential part of the entertainment world and shows.

Stay tuned to TellyChakkar for more updates!

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