As Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar The Revenge continues to shatter records worldwide, director Aditya Dhar spotlights casting director Mukesh Chhabra’s eagle eye for picking the best of the ensemble that makes Dhurandhar a global phenomenon that it is today. He took to his social media handle to share a few BTS glimpses from the sets and penned a detailed note chronicling their journey, partnership and building something so solid that it becomes a benchmark in Indian cinema.
Calling him the 'man who saw Dhurandhar' long before Dhar did, he mentioned that Mukesh Chhabra reshaped the film and did not confine himself to just doing his job. Aditya Dhar lay emphasis on Chhabra’s belief in scale, depth, detail and truth. "The sheer number of actors, the range of characters, the responsibility of getting every single face right, it was overwhelming. But Mukesh and his team just went all guns blazing. My only brief to them was simple: bring me great actors, new or old, big or small, it doesn’t matter. And he turned that into a mission," he wrote.
Diving deep into the journey, Dhar mentioned that their journey followed with breaking down every character, debating, exploring, rejecting and discovering. "Conversations that didn’t feel like work but like building something brick by brick with absolute honesty. For him, casting was never about filling roles, it was about finding people who belonged. Even for the smallest part, he went just as deep, just as far, making sure every person on screen felt real, lived-in, and true to the world," he added.
He continued, "But beyond the craft, what I found in him was something even more rare, a friend, a well-wisher, a brother. Someone who stood by the film with complete faith, even when mine wavered. I truly hope this film makes people realise the power of casting, one of the most crucial, yet often overlooked aspects of filmmaking. It can make a film or break it."
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Dhar mentioned that it is unfortunate that the industry still "doesn’t celebrate casting directors the way it should". "The film carries your choices in every single frame Mukesh!" he concluded.
Jio Studios and B62 Studios’ Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar The Revenge is an Aditya Dhar film. The story of unknown men is written, directed and produced by Aditya Dhar and produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Lokesh Dhar. The second part of its duology is continuing its unprecedented run at the box office.