Anjali Priya entered the City of Dreams, Mumbai to become an actor. She even played an interesting character in Sony Entertainment Television’s popular show, Maharana Pratap. However, her in-depth knowledge in casting prompted her to take it up as her profession. Today, she leads the casting team of Dhaval Gada and Guruodev Bhalla Productions as the Casting Head, in charge of the new Colors show Udann. In conversation with Tellychakkar.com, the girl talks about her journey in the industry.. How many years have you been in the casting profession? How did you begin your career? I have been casting for the last two and a half years. I started with casting for advertisements. Take us through the various production houses and shows you have worked on? For advertisements, I started with Red-Submarine, where I worked for hardly four months. Then I moved on to cast for television with the help of my friend. Since then, I have been associated with production houses like Optymystix, SaReGaMa. Have you always wanted to be in casting? Not exactly. I came to Mumbai to pursue acting. But I found myself good at casting too. So, I continued to be associated with casting. Moreover, casting helped me polish my acting skills. Don't you think being a girl, casting is a tough profession to be in? There's no truth in that. C'mon, girls are proving their worth in every field. So, why not casting. Now where do you work and in what designation? Currently I am working as the Casting Head for Dhaval Gada & Guroudev Bhalla Productions for its show Udaan. Any major incidents or problems you have faced whole casting? Problems are many, but this industry is known for its struggle. This industry has taught me to fight and win over those problems. The industry also rewards you with so much. It would be unfair not to show any gratitude to people who have had such a major role in shaping my career. For that, I would like to thank my parents, my friends Vishal Sharma, Rahul Raina and Pankaj ji. We have heard you are an actor too. How did this passion begin? Yes, I am. As I mentioned, I had come to pursue acting. But destiny had something else in its mind initially. I started as an Associate Director in Ad Films. While handling the post of AD in ads, I started handling the casting department too, which eventually took me to the casting world. From there on, there was no looking back. I continued with my casting and eventually grabbed few ads and finally TV shows as well. My major role so far has been in Maharana Pratap, where I played the female lead as Krishna. What are your long term goals? There's nothing else I can be serious about in my life. Undoubtedly, it will always be acting. Since my childhood I have dreamt of watching myself on celluloid. Now, when I have moved ahead, there's no turning back from here. Have you been casting for Udann from the beginning? I started casting for Udann in the mid-way. Before me, few characters were locked. But still, many major characters were left. There was a lot of pressure. I worked day and night, so that the shoot could start on time. How is it to work with Dhaval Gada and Guruodev Bhalla? Working with them has been a whole new experience. I got to learn a lot. Guruo Sir & Dhaval Sir have been very supportive. Both have been working in the industry for very long. I feel happy to be associated with them. Your message to aspiring casting directors? Well, the message to all the aspiring artists of our industry, be it casting directors or actors or directors, and that is to believe in yourself and try your best to achieve your goals, because Mumbai is the land of dreams, a land where dreams come true.