Visshal S Gupta has been a part of the television industry for some years now. The talented man always intended to be a part of television since childhood. While he wanted to be a director, destiny had something else in store for him. Today he is the Casting Director with 4 Lions Productions and there is no looking back for him. He is the man who has roped in many popular faces like Karan Singh Grover aka Asad of Qubool Hai, Shaleen Malhotra aka Arjun of Arjun, Priyal Gor and Shritama Mukherjee from Dekha Ek Khwaab, Rushiraj Pawar from Chandragupta Maurya, amongst others. Tellychakkar.com entered into a chat with Visshal for Behind the Lens section… Tell us something about yourself? (Smiles) I was born in Punjab and raised in Nainital from where I completed my schooling and college. Later I completed my Masters in Mass and Communication from Pune University. Continue… From my childhood I wanted to be a part of television industry. Few years back I came to Mumbai to pursue my dreams in this medium. I must say that by God’s grace I had to only struggle for a month in my life. After coming here I joined Sagar Arts where I worked for two years. There I signed many faces for mytho shows. Later I joined BBC Worldwide as Casting Director where I was casting for reality shows. And now I am a part of 4 Lions Production as casting director and it’s been a year now. Could you tell us about the role of a casting director? Well, I believe casting for daily soaps is very easy but things can be tough for shows like Arjun where we have to bring in new faces for every episode. Till now in 66 episodes we have not repeated a single character. It is always a task for me to cast faces for Arjun. Once the script is ready it is our job to get suitable faces that can fit into the role properly. I believe a show’s success or failure depends upon its cast. Once the casting is done, it is upon the producer to take a final call. What are the things that are required at the time of short listing an actor for any particular role? For daily soaps casting is not carried every day unless any new track is introduced. But for shows like Arjun we have to cast faces every week. Before short listing actors the first thing we have to take care of is the budget. Then it depends upon the requirement of the role. If the story has UP as its background, the actor should be a little dusky and of medium height. For a Punjabi character, the actor should be fair and bindaas. After this, everything depends on their performance. At the end, camera plays a vital role. Have you ever faced an actor’s tantrums? Yes, I went through problems with Digangana Suryavanshi (Qubool Hai). She did not manage to gel with anyone and even her parents created issues at times. Do you feel insecure, in terms of career prospect, being a casting director? Not at all. There is always a demand for casting directors. I believe a show’s success depends upon its casting. Has it ever happened that you have cast your friends when they requested you to? Actually, I feel really bad when I can’t cast my friends because for me talent is more important. If my friend suits the role, then I don’t mind. How do you handle a crisis situation wherein the lead or a character artist wants to walk out of the project? It is all about pampering. Actors are the face of the show, so you should always have a good rapport with them. One should always keep their actors happy. I think that’s the way it has to be dealt with. Do TRPs affect casting directors? No. Once the casting is done it is the writer, creative and director’s responsibility. Do you have to work round-the-clock too? Touchwood, till now I didn’t have to and all thanks to the heads at 4 Lions. I am blessed to work with them. Any suggestions for the ones who want to get into casting? Well, I cannot suggest as it depends upon person to person. But I have been very aggressive when it comes to work. I stick to my point. I don’t agree to things which are not correct. It is important that you always take your stand. Lastly, your take on Shaleen Malhotra as Arjun and Karan Singh Grover as Asad of your show… Karan is a very nice person. He has got a heart of gold. Talking about Shaleen, I still remember, two years back when he came for audition I was wondering whether he will be able to play the role. And now I feel nobody could have played Arjun’s role like him.