Well-known director-actor-singer Anjan Dutt says that right casting is of utmost importance while making films based on the novels of great writers.

“I feel whenever we (directors) make films on the works of greatest writers like Shakespeare and Rabindranath Tagore, we should pay proper attention to the casting of actors,” Anjan said at the press conference of his upcoming film Hemanta, which held at a bookstore of Kolkata.

He added, “The actors may or may not be famous faces but the right casting will do justice to the story. Casting is one of the biggest criteria for me.”

His film Hemanta is the adaptation of Shakespeare’s timeless drama Hamlet and features actors Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Saswata Chatterjee, Jisshu U Sengupta, Gargi Roy Choudhury, Payel Sarkar, and Subhra Sourav Das in pivotal roles.  

The Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona director confessed that he might not be a good actor but he has the ability to recognize good actors.  

He said, “I must share with journalists here that when I was 21, I wanted to be an actor. One of my earlier films had taken me to a foreign land where I had even won a small award for it and after that I had decided to become a successful actor. I couldn’t manage to prove myself to be a good actor in the 80s. However, I might not make good movies but I can recognize good actors. I can smell the talent.”

“Interestingly, actors of my next generation like Rudra (Rudranil Ghosh), Param (Parambrata), Jisshu consider me a good actor. Rituparno (Ghosh) too considered me a good actor,” added the director.   

He also humorously said that if he was of Parambrata’s age, he himself would have done the actor’s part in the film.   

“Honestly speaking, if I were of Param’s age, I myself would have done Hamlet. I have acted via him. It’s not that my ghost form has overpowered his soul, I mean to say that he has given a shape to what I would have done if I had acted,” explained the director.

Anjan also said that he likes the idea of taking inputs from his actors.

He quipped, “All my actors change my script by suggesting their inputs and I love that. I am like a coach. A coach is very important in making a football team win the match. But a coach does not really play; he does the right things in his own way. I too do the same.”

Produced by Greentouch Entertainment Pvt Ltd, it will release on 12^th August.