MANOJ SHARMA GIVES AN INSIGHT INTO THE CASTING WORLD

It requires a person to be visionary to form an entire person in their head before you see it in reality. Such is the job of a casting director who has the difficult job of searching for the right person for the right role. Manoj Kumar Sharma has been in this business for the past ten years, building a path for actors towards the right roles. Talking to City First, Manoj Kumar Sharma shared his experience of ten years, his debut in OTT with the series Hasratein and what it means to be a casting director. Manoj stated that his latest web series, Hasratein released on December 12 on the OTT platform Hungama Play and MX Player. It is an anthology that tells the story of five different women of different ages and their hidden desires. “Age kaunsi bhi ho, par harr age mein hasratein toh aapki htoti hi hai. Either think about society or think about yourself and break those boundaries and fulfil your desires,” he said, giving an idea into the theme of the show. Sharing his experience of working for the OTT for the first time, Manoj said, “It was a bit difficult for me as it was my first-time casting for the web. The series shows intimacy, not in a cheap light but shows the aesthetic side of it. Many artists questioned our decision to make the series. But all the artists that decided to shoot for the series, including the main leads Shilpa Tulaskar, Adaa Khan, Monalisa, Sana Sayyad and Krishna Mukherjee thoroughly understood the feeling behind the show and genuinely wanted to bring out such stories into the world.”

As someone who left his MBA degree to fulfil his desire to work in the industry, Manoj has now completed ten years as a casting director at Shakuntalam Telefilms. Talking about his experience so far, he said, “We learn much more from behind the cameras rather than in front of the camera. Even if a person is handsome, whether he is a good actor is important to recognize. But I got this job at a time when I was in need of one and I joined the company as an intern. Today I have climbed the ladder but I never thought of changing the company even for once. Because Shakuntalam gives me peace that many rich people do not have.” Sharing his views as an industry person on the controversial issue of the casting couch, Manoj said that no matter what field you belong to, you will have negative and positive points, it all depends on whether one understands the signs. “You immediately understand the vibe of a person. Whenever you meet a person, you understand their vibe through the way they talk or send you a message. So I feel a person shows if his intentions are good or not. It is your call at the end of the day if you are following those intentions or not,” he said before signing off.