MUMBAI: A lot of casting directors have made flourishing careers over the years in the industry.
Janet Ellis Prajapati is one of them who has been in the casting field for more than two decades.
She heads her own casting agency called Janet’s Casting Hub.
Janet has launched many other well-known faces like Nirbhay Wadhwa, Tunisha Sharma, Avika Gor, Ashnoor Kaur, Siddharth Nigam, and Sumona Chakravarti among others.
The talented diva has managed the casting for several projects. Her latest shows are Chikoo Ki Mummy Durr Kie and Vidrohi, which have some of the most prominent faces of the television world.
Janet also recently cast actors like Mansi Salvi, Krish Chauhan, and Vimarsh Roshan for Colors' hit ongoing drama series Balika Vadhu 2.
TellyChakkar got in touch with Janet, who spoke at length about her views on casting and much more.
Casting journey, different genres and challenges...
It is not that challenging because it depends on the character sketch. There are a lot of responsibilities you have to handle. Like for mythology, you need an actor with a great physique and the woman also needs to have an enlightened face so it gives you that traditional Indian look. Both the actor and the actress needs to have that Indian face look to suit the character. When we talk about a normal drama series, it all depends on which linguistic it is. We have to look out for actors who can perform in that genre and accordingly choose. I have passed that phase where I need to do research as I am well-aware of the actors and what they are doing. But when we have a fresh face, it is a challenge as we need to work on it.
Projects that have been extremely challenging...
Every show is a challenge and no casting is done overnight. Sometimes you are stuck very badly for casting some characters. You need to crack it, which is very difficult. There are a lot of parameters from the actors, budget issues, channel, and much more. I don't remember any such show where we had trouble. We had trouble casting for many characters in every show.
Views on nepotism prevailing in the TV industry...
I have noticed at some places where I have felt that there are people who deserve much better than other actors do. So, I don't know if you call it partiality or nepotism. But I have felt it a couple of times. Sometimes, I have seen that the channels and the makers have gone the extra mile to get that actor onboard. I have seen the good and not-so-good side of it.
Stay tuned to TellyChakkar for all the latest updates.
ALSO READ: Janet Ellis Prajapati - The maverick who has launched many faces in the television industry
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