Reema Gupta has been a part of the television industry for the past five years now. However, she never intended to be a part of the entertainment industry. She always wanted to be a housewife but then destiny had something else in store for her. Today she is the Casting Director with Sunshine Productions and there is no looking back for her from here. Sky is the limit for her. Tellychakkar.com entered into a chat with the talented lady for Behind the Lens section… When and how did TV happen to you? I had never planned to be a part of this industry it’s just that I used to do a lot of promotional events. And during one such event, PR Abdul Quatir noticed me comparing and he felt I am destined to be in the media. Later he gave me certain contacts after which I started working as an entertainment reporter for a channel located in Indore. But after a while I wanted to move out of it as I wasn’t very comfortable attending page 3 parties. Continue… Then I joined Alokk Media, a casting agency. While I was working there Balaji Telefilms offered me the post of a Casting Director and being the usual me I gave it a try. After Balaji I joined Silver Circle Film Company, Swastik Pictures, Magic lantern, Reliance, Vikram Bhatt Productions and then finally… Sunshine Productions. So how long have you been in this industry? I have been here for five years now. And I’ve completed 10 months with Sunshine Productions. You told us you never wanted to get into the entertainment field. So what featured in your initial dreams? I did my B.Sc. from Nirmala Niketan College as I wanted to be a housewife. Since Nirmala Niketan teaches things like cooking and stitching so my sole motives of joining Nirmala Niketan was of learning household chores. But then destiny wanted me to work. I have always been working and I have been good in whatever endeavours I have taken so far. In fact my friends in college always asked me to give up on my dream of becoming a housewife as they knew I was better in the work I was doing. In fact, I have always had the hunger to learn new things and complete my work well… maybe that has worked for me. Otherwise being a Casting Director for Balaji back then which had dozen shows wouldn’t have been possible for me. What are the responsibilities of a Casting Director? We have to constantly hunt for new faces. Unlike films, where directors finalize the final actors, it’s the Casting Director who decides in the TV industry. However, the final decision is always taken in consultation with the Channel and the producer. How do you handle a crisis situation wherein the lead or a character artist wants to walk out of the show? Honestly, for me I have been in the industry for quite some time now. So every single day five new people or aspiring actors get added to my list. So in case of a crisis situation, I try and select from the bunch. But then I have another advantage with Sunshine Productions. My producers are very helpful and they come up with options, making my job easy. As far as replacing a lead is concerned it’s not an easy job. Everybody is under pressure as the next person has to be better than the previous one. The new face will also decide the fate of your show. Can casting of a show decide its fate? I feel casting and story are equally important. For if a track is not interesting the faces will do no wonders similarly if the actors are not convincing the story won’t be appealing. So casting is as important as the track of that show. Do TRPs affect Casting Directors? Yes, it does for if the casting goes wrong the TRP of the show goes down and then it hits back. Do you have to work round-the-clock too? If there is an urgent casting to be done I have to wait till late night, otherwise I am relaxed. Any suggestions for the ones who want to get into casting? Work hard and give your hundred percent to your work.