Saturday, July 6, 2013

How Anurag Basu finalised Priyanka Chopra for Barfi!

Anurag Basu, whose Barfi! did exceedingly well at the box office, says he
was initially confused about his lead
actress for the film.

While Ranbir Kapoor played the title role,
Priyanka Chopra was seen as autistic
Jhilmil Chatterjee and her performance
won her many awards. Illeana D'Cruz also
featured in the romantic-comedy.

"When I went to cast Priyanka Chopra, I
realised that I could not see her as my
character. I told her that I was not sure
and that we should have a three-day
workshop," said Basu.

The director was speaking at an acting
workshop - 100 years of Indian Cinema:
An actor Prepares" - held on the second
day of the ongoing 14th International
Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards.

He further said: "The first day of the
workshop was tough as Priyanka was
very formal. I asked her to hold my collar
and shout abuses at me, this loosened her
up a lot."

"I told her to see the world from my
character's eyes and everything will fall
into place. She just had to be there in the
moment," he added.

How do you usually cast for your films?

"I need to have clarity in my mind. As long
as there is clarity, I can choose my cast in
one go," he said. The director, who has directed films like Barfi!,
Life in a Metro and Gangster - A Love Story, describes the current lot
of actors as easy-going.

"All the actors of our generation are easy-
going. But all of them are different. Hrithik
Roshan is more reserved, while Ranbir and
I became great friends as we have the
same likes and dislikes. You have to
balance everything as a director," he said.

No comments:

Post a Comment