Paragg Mehta has been a casting director for a large number of films, which also include some biggies like Satyagraha (2013), Goliyon Ki Raasleela - Ram Leela (2013), Mary Kom (2014), Bajirao Mastani (2015) and the upcoming Laxmmi Bomb. But casting for the web-series Betaal was a big challenge for him.
Firstly, it was a big thing for him to be casting for a project by Shah Rukh Khan’s production house. “Every project I take up is a challenge, but this one was big and became special for me when I got a call from Red Chillies. It was our first fictional horror-thriller zombie drama series,” he said in an official statement.
Betaal stars Viineet Kumar, Aahana Kumra, Suchitra Pillai, Jitendra Joshi, Siddharth Menon, Manjiri Pupala, and Syna Anand in pivotal roles.
For the rest of the casting, it was a tiring task for Mehta and the crew. “Following the vision of director Patrick Graham and Nikhil Mahajan, we travelled to many villages in different parts of India, keeping the nuances of all the characters in mind. We auditioned as many artistes as we could until we got it right and did full justice to the script."
Mehta is happy that in today’s times casting directors are getting their due credit. “People have started noting the cast. And with the rise of the OTT platforms, more content is flowing and our roles are acknowledged and we have started getting credit too,” he said.
Betaal will start streaming on Netflix from 24 May.