MUMBAI: The world of Casting is not easy. Casting Directors handpick every character and try to find the perfect match as to who would portray the character well. As for casting director Manish Kumar Sharma, he has come a long way in his career and in an exclusive conversation with Tellychakkar.com, Manish spoke about his journey in the industry among many other things…

Please tell us something about your journey to becoming a casting director…

From the time I was in school, I used to take part in a lot of cultural activities and I felt that I am not too focused on studies but when it came to writing or narrating scripts or performing arts, I am pretty good. It is from the school days that I started as an artist and right when I was in the eighth standard, I bagged my first television show, Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai which aired on Doordarshan. Soon after, I bagged my first film which was Gandhi to Hitler, which had Raghuvir Yadav and Neha Dhupia.

I have done my theatre and I have learnt a lot under M S Sathyu ji. I used to handle production under him and that is when I realized that how important it is for an actor to beautifully present the situation and drama. If anything goes wrong with the casting, the project fails to grip the audience and I got to understand the process of dialogue – pitch, pause, throw etc.

And as one, if chooses to pursue the field of entertainment, has to fly down to Mumbai, I came to the city of dreams in 2011. I left my MBA to pursue this profession. Now, speaking of how my journey started off from here, Shakuntaklam Telefilms knew me as an actor and the casting assistant, Upen who was then working with them got to know that I am not doing too well financially. So I was offered to join as an intern to know how the process works and somewhere it did come across that my choice of profession was not working out to well for me. I never planned anything and whatever I did was with sheer hardwork and dedication.

How do you balance your personal and professional life?

The profession of Casting Director and the police is the same when the time frame and the number of hours dedicated to the profession is considered. There is no time as such and we have to be available round the clock.

How is it working with actors?

Look, it becomes a little difficult when it comes to working with actors who have established their names in the industry as television does not offer the kind of budget it used to given that the mediums of entertainment have widened. In this case actors increase their budget according to their experience but channels do not work with that kind of a budget and we have to cast fresh faces and semi known.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Well, I am living in the present and working hard. I would like to stay focused on that as the future will mould according to how I contribute presently to my career.

Well said Manish! (Also Read: KumKum Bhagya : BIG TWIST! Pragya comes to know a shocking truth about Abhi, the duo might meet after two years)