What is it like to be cast in a movie, to become a star overnight, have thousands of fans and to appear on screens across the world? During the Dubai International Film Festival, Gaurav Mohindra, a production manager and casting director based in Dubai and Hollywood with Nugen Media, discussed what the casting process is really like from the other side of the fence. He also discussed the role of an agent and the process of developing a relationship with them in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and London.
Mohindra’s company has worked on projects including Solar Eclipse: Edge of Darkness that’s screening at Diff.
“It’s a fairly difficult process to actually maintain contact with them. Since we’re based out of Dubai, there’s a huge time difference,” said Mohindra. This often leads to casting directors looking at actors’ previous performances, and shortlisting them based on that criteria. When looking at the shortlist, the actual acting potential of the candidates is obviously significant.
“What’s important is how well the actor fits into the character. So it’s very important that, as a casting director, you have gone through the script deeply, and if a particular person plays that character, you know how they have to behave”, he said.
Although actors are encouraged to interpret the script in their own way, the casting crew will definitely look for a person who plays the character the way the scriptwriters and director envision them to be.
Divulging a little known secret, Mohindra mentioned that a typically British or English accent is more likely to land a role than an American or International one.
“The British accent had always been loved… I always prefer that over an American accent,” he said.
It seems that he is not the only one who thinks so, as seen at the 2016 Oscars, where few nominated actors spoke with an American accent. Mohindra also highlighted the importance of how an actor sounds. The way a person’s voice sounds when recorded is crucial to the decision-making method, and can even affect the final choice by up to 60 per cent.
The best advice he has for budding performers is “to spend a lot of time practicing”, an age-old technique that has proved to be continuously successful in the past.
— The Young Journalist Award (YJA) at Diff is a training programme for high school and university students who are aspiring writers and reporters. Eight students are competing at the festival this year. One winner will secure a monthlong internship with Gulf News.
