New Delhi: Ever since Zoya Akhtar’s film ‘The Archies’ was announced, it became embroiled in controversy surrounding its casting. Social media was abuzz with comments and statements about casting ‘star kids’, taking the whole nepotism debate to another level. The film features Suhana Khan( Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter), Khushi Kapoor( late actress Sridevi’s daughter),and Agastya Nanda ( grandson of Amitabh Bachchan). Now, the casting director of ‘The Archies’, Nandini Shrikent has spoken about the cast selection for the film setting thus setting it’s ‘nepotism charges’ to rest.
In an interaction with The Quint, Nandini shared that a proper casting process was followed for the film wherein many aspiring actors were auditioned. “Any industry you look at, the next generation takes over. If someone fits the role, they deserve the opportunity because they fit the role. It’s not like we’ve just gone and cast someone because they’re a star kid. Each one is very specifically, super-perfect for the role they’ve been cast in.”
“We tested many people for the roles. We didn’t just go over with these roles on a platter to the three star kids and say ‘Here they are!’ A lot of people tested for various roles and then this fell in place,” she added.
Actor and casting director Abhishek Banerjee who was also part of the interview with Nandini Shrikent said that in some instances, producers and filmmakers cannot trust people they don’t know and end up casting star kids.
“Sometimes you might not know an actor or it’s possible that you cant trust whether he’ll do a good job on set, whether he’ll understand the set, how to be around ADs, how to be around the crew. Versus a guy or girl who comes from a filmy background and you automatically know that they’re well versed. Even that star kid, they will also learn through the process. Once they are on the set, they will have to learn,Abhishek told the publication.
However, Nandini did add that sometimes for small roles, the casting directors are supposed to make adjustments and that for ‘The Archies’, there was no pressure to cast ‘star kids’.
Besides the Bollywood star kids mentioned earlier, ‘The Archies’ also stars Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Yuvraj Menda and Dot.