From envisioning Vir Das as a menacing news anchor in Call Me Bae to roping in Zeenat Aman for The Royals, casting director Panchami on joys of anti-casting
Vir Das in Call Me Bae
It’s hard to imagine Vir Das as a loud and attention-seeking news anchor who values TRPs over the truth. Call Me Bae is filled with such interesting casting choices—from lead Ananya Panday to cameos by Faye D’Souza, Karishma Tanna and more. Which is why bringing the cast together was such a joy for casting director Panchami Ghavri.
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Vir Das in Call Me Bae
She recalls, “Bae was a spin-off of Poo from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham [2001]. The makers thought Ananya would be the perfect fit, as she is. For Vir’s character, I had to push my director Collin [D’Cunha] to see it the way I viewed it. We had gone through a lot of names, but something wasn’t fitting right [because] we were taking a different direction. Then I had to pester Collin to do just a Zoom read [with Das]. Needless to say, Vir is so good with improv and he has the ability to do different things in different takes.”
Panchami Ghavri
Next up, Ghavri has The Royals, backed by Rangita and Ishita Nandy. While it has many factors going for it—from Bhumi Pednekar and Ishaan Khatter’s fresh pairing to its story steeped in Indian royalty—many have their eyes peeled for Zeenat Aman. “I will never forget our meeting with Zeenat ma’am. I was massively fan-girling,” laughs the casting director. She adds that her brief for the Netflix series was to get a bevy of actors who understood its tone. “We focussed on getting good actors on board instead of just chasing names. The show shouldn’t be compared to [the international series on royalty], it has its own voice. No one in India has made a show on the royals, even though it’s so deeply ingrained in our culture,” she reflects.
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