Actor and casting director Abhishek Banerjee has been part of several successful titles, including Highway, Dream Girl 2, Paatal Lok, Stree, Rana Naidu, and Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank, amongst others. Having spent close to two decades in the film industry, Banerjee recently spoke with IMDb about pivotal moments that shaped his career.

Speaking about his journey so far and a transformative moment in his career, Banerjee said, “Every few years, I am at a new turning point. It’s a very gradual process for me and I’m not an overnight star. People didn’t start knowing my name in the first film I did or the second film I did or the first show I did. My characters became hugely popular. Jana from Stree became popular. Hathoda Tyagi became very popular and that gave me a lot of social media attention. Jana was hugely popular on the streets of India but on social media, I was not seeing that kind of effect in terms of followers. Paatal Lok changed that. It was an internet product and it was very popular on the internet. Gradually, over the years, I’ve realised that even though it’s been out for six years, people are still watching it. One needs to constantly be a part of interesting cinema and audiences will keep finding you.”

Speaking about his process as a casting director and experience of auditioning and working alongside some of the most talented actors of the country, Banerjee mentioned, “As a struggling actor, I had to do certain jobs so I did whatever came my way which was remotely attached to acting, like voiceovers. I tried my hand as a radio jockey which I failed at. I could not clear the final tests. I worked in student films too, I just never stopped working. I wanted to be in front of the camera. Everyone says that you’ve done small roles in Rang De Basanti, Go Goa Gone, No One Killed Jessica, yes because I never expected any director to spot me and make me a star. I was doing that because I wanted to gain camera time. I was just aware of my surroundings and kept moving from one job to another. I became a casting intern in Dev.D and from thereon, somehow my casting journey began. I started assisting in films and was giving cues to some of the best actors of India who are currently big stars. Jaideep Ahlawat, I was casting for Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai. He’s such a phenomenal actor. We auditioned him for the role which Randeep Hooda ended up doing. I was awestruck because as an actor who’s also trained, you think that you know it all but then you see someone like Jaideep perform in front of the camera giving such a kickass audition. Multiple films I have tested him, multiple times we have cast him and he was awesome every single time. The kind of hold he has in front of the camera is unbelievable and is something which every actor should learn from, the stillness and the emotions and the eyes. I think Jaideep is absolutely terrific.”

Speaking about what drew him to his role in Stolen, Banerjee revealed, “What impressed me first was the idea that they want to make this road action thriller and that’s something which I love. I love action thrillers. I met them and they both have an electrifying personality and of course there were differences. I approached the script in a very different way and I wanted them to make some changes and it was a condition that if they don’t make those changes then I’m not a part of it. So that actually brought a bit of a rift because it became like an actor trying to sabotage the film. Gaurav Dhingra, our producer, came and fought with me at an event. We had terrific blasting moments at each other, we went at it and then both of us realised that we both love cinema a lot else we wouldn’t be fighting outside a hotel, holding onto our own points. We went to Delhi, sat together, discussed ideas and then Shubham Vardhan came in and pitched in. He wrote some fantastic dialogues. He’s a fantastic writer. Highly intelligent people in the room. We weren’t wasting time. Even when we took breaks during meetings, they were sort of creative breaks. There was so much creative juice flowing in the experience of the pre-shoot of Stolen. I was just sure that this film is going to be different.”