You will have a hard time if you are working with idiots: Casting Director Sohan Thakur

Sohan Thakur is a name that most of the industry people are familiar with as he has been associated with some of the most well-known TV productions. Currently he is the casting head of Madhubala, Rangrasiya and Sanskaar 2. We at Tellychakkar.com got into a freewheeling chat with this very man for our Behind the Lens segment. Tell us a bit about your journey in the television industry? Well, I started as a CA in Delhi and that’s when I moved out of one firm to join another and surprisingly this place happened to be the one supplying necessary shoot equipments to crew working from outside Delhi. Basically they had everything from cameras, generator vans to light equipments. I was a manager there. Soon I got into every aspect of it. I first became a production executive who knew accounts too. Plus I was a bit of an art director cum a casting director too. So basically I was working on everything. This is when I worked on shows like School Days, College Days and Rishtey (Zee TV). At the same time I met Manoj Raghuvanshi with whom I worked on India’s Most Wanted. After that I worked on a few music videos. This is when I moved to Mumbai fully realizing that there wasn’t much for me in Delhi. Which year are you talking about? This was in 2001. I came down to Mumbai and joined the Sankraman group. I worked with them on a couple of projects till I became a casting director in 2005. Which all shows have you worked in (casting) for so far? I’ve cast for Rehai, had also cast for two BAG shows back then, but then after I met with an accident everything came to a screeching halt. Tell us about your accident? (Sits back)Well, it was in the year 2001 and I was on a bike heading for a meeting at Zee TV. Then on the way (near Amitabh Bachchan’s bungalow in Juhu), a car hit me and just ran off. Later I was rushed to a hospital, where I stayed in ICU. I was there, in the hospital, for almost 20 days, completely bed-ridden. I finally got back to my proper leg agility after 5 years. But then you got back? Yes, I got back with a bang and went on to cast for Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo, Mata Ki Chowki, Hindi Hai Hum, Bairi Piya, Pratigya, Kitchen Champion, Mallika-e-Kitchen, Guinness World Record Ab India Todega, Wanted, Looteri Dulhan,Do Dil Ek Jaan, Savitri, Madhubala, Rangrasiya and many others. Do you work all alone or you have a team? Wherever I work, I am the in-house head of that particular company. And I have around eight people working under me in Mumbai and Delhi. Trust me, all these things are no less than a miracle and believe me this has been possible with the support of my parents. How do you handle friends who keep constantly bugging you for roles? I am a very straight forward and blunt person. I just can’t be partial and knowing that, my friends don’t usually approach me. But then I do call them if they fit in a certain role. In fact I also ask my other casting friends to approach them if they feel that they would fit in a certain role; the best example being Puneet Sachdev. He has been my friend for seven to eight years now, but it was only recently that I approached him for a role in Madhubala as he was the best suited person. In fact, there are instances where newcomers want to be friends with me only because they want roles and they even try gifting and bribing me, but I don’t entertain such people. What’s your take on casting couch? It does exist today and it will exist tomorrow too but I feel only two kind of people are involved in it. One, those who are not talented, the other ones are those who look at short-term benefits. Nobody can ever force anyone to do anything especially after the law for women security have become stricter. Does the interference of channels in terms of casting give you a hard time? If you are working with idiots you are bound to have a hard time. But I am proud to be working with intelligent people. We select our top 25 artistes for a particular role which the creative team has had a look into. Of the finalists, two are sent to the channel which selects one out of them. But things do get tough if your content head fails to convince the channel.