India, March 28 -- Continued from p 04 People hire me for my opinion and my ideas. It's not about data; it's just about who will fit where. How do you surprise the audience? There are so many actors who said no to Jameel's part in the beginning. But then we thought. Rakesh had done one scene with Aditya Dhar in Uri: The Surgical Strike. I said, "If you have already worked with him, why don't you think of him again? He's great." People will be in shock because he does mostly comedy scenes. I immediately called him and said, "Rakesh bhai, I had told you that a big project is coming. It's here. Talk to Aditya Dhar." We were sitting together, and on that call, we locked him. When I read the script, I always think, how can I go against the typical way of thinking about casting? I had seen a lot of work by Gaurav. He made interesting mimicry or comic videos. I noticed things no one else has seen. Also, surprisingly, he had left Mumbai and shifted back to Gurgaon. He had given up on films. I called him and asked if he would grow his beard for a few days because I wanted to test him for a character. He agreed. After watching him, Aditya asked, "Who is this actor?" I said, "Gaurav Gera." He exclaimed, "What?" I think after the film, every single person in the industry messaged me and asked who the actor was, cast as Alam. They said, "He is a new face." I said, "He is not new, he is Gaurav!" In the whole film process, we had real-life references. So, I worked with my team for 4-5 months and did research on people's faces. We looked at all the data: who looks close to them, their personality, their behaviour, and their height. I divided them on the basis of their physicality in a folder. Then, I started auditioning people according to it. Today I can tell three actors had said no to this film. They have all said after it was released, 'I wish we would have said yes.' And now they remind, 'Next time, don't forget. I will say yes, whatever you tell me'. Suddenly, after the first film, I get messages from actors: 'You tell me what to do; I'm on'. Initially, we thought of so many big, established actors. Aditya got so many messages from different people; I got messages asking, "Why not me?" We were very clear that the whole world should feel like she's a fresh girl - someone who doesn't have a background in films. We auditioned so many people, more than 1,000 girls. I made it very clear: completely fresh, a new approach, and of course, language. It should feel like she's from there because the film feels like you're going to that country. That was the whole idea. In the second film, that scene with Ranveer Singh where she asks, "Are you a Hindustani agent?"-that was my audition script. I decided, first, the girl's physicality and appearance should match the role, and then whoever does a good job, we will shortlist. We did the scene with a minimum of 50 people after shortlisting. Then we shortlisted 30, came down to 20, then 10, then five, three, and one. Sara gave a kick-a*s audition. I'm going to release that soon. I've been playing with one idea: releasing a documentary on the process of casting. Aditya's conviction was seen on the first day. Even now, I remember the words: "See what will happen after this film." Such strong conviction. His way of thinking about scenes, the way he designs them, his sensibility of music-he surprised people. Thank you very much. I am hoping that the whole community will benefit. We have made a good base; we have done it with respect and dignity. A lot of people go for training for camerawork, for editing, for direction, and for acting. I hope in the future I also make an institute where people come to learn casting and make it a full-fledged profession. Because it took us a lot of years; today it's been 20 years. Only now are we talking about casting, when it should have happened a long time ago. It's a very good change. I don't have one; there are two or three things that I want to explain nicely. First of all, this whole industry is a game of patience, and nothing is going to happen overnight. You keep working on your craft. Sometimes people get into the wrong networking; they get into socializing. Nothing is going to happen. Just have some patience. If it's meant for you, it will be yours. Today's generation loses patience very quickly. In the time of social media, they think that they will make a reel and it will go viral. No, acting is very different; If you look at Dhurandhar, I have not cast any actors who are popular because of social media. On social media, you are an influencer or content creator; that is a different job. Don't mix that with acting. Acting is a process. But you should stay on social media because you look like this, or you have a presence; this is like how your identity card looks. Never sell your talent on social media; do it for the camera. Whatever work you are made for, do it there. I don't think all the big directors are sitting on social media; we don't really like to see that. Some are using these followers and content creators because they want to promote a song, a brand, or a new music video. For them it works. For us, it doesn't....