Hailing from Agra, Shivam Gupta belongs to a well-educated family but hated studying himself. During his late teens, he moved to Delhi to live with his sister where he found his love for theatre
Shivam Gupta
There's something about the world of films which has tempted everyone. People are so attracted towards the glitz and glamour of this industry that sometimes they try for years to make a career in it. We all know that making an entry in Bollywood is the most difficult thing unless you possess great skills or have great connections. This is the story of a runaway boy, Shivam Gupta, who made his way into B-Town through a filmy journey of his own and is now a well-reputed casting director.
Hailing from Agra, Shivam belongs to a well-educated family but hated studying himself. During his late teens, he moved to Delhi to live with his sister where he found his love for theatre. His sister furthermore fanned the flame of his love for acting and doing something big. Hence, on being summoned back to Agra after finishing his school/college, he ran away from his house, writing a note to his family that said 'I am going away to be an actor'. Gupta in a candid interview opened up about his journey in the film industry so far.
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Excerpts from the conversation:
Q: How was your experience as a theatre artist?
A: I started to perform plays with the popular Bani Sharad Joshi and my first show was in India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. The journey began from there and I worked with her for more than 3 years and did several plays along with her. After that, I met top names from the theatre world like Robin Das and VK Sharma with whom I did plays in Orissa and other parts of East India. I was also a part of NSD (National School of Drama), not as a student, but as an outsider. Being a theatre performer, I realised that it builds great self-confidence but you end up earning very less.
Q: You wanted to become an actor. Then how you thought of becoming a casting director?
A: One of my friends, Rajkumar Sharma offered me the job of casting. I agreed and was paid Rs 2000. With time, I started enjoying my work. Casting was a different experience where I explored myself as a creative person. I think casting and acting go hand in hand. Hunting for good talent has never been an easy task. It needs you to have proper knowledge about acting, the potential of an actor and the understanding of the character. This was in 2014 when I decided to become a casting director.
Q: How did Mumbai happen to you?
A: While staying in Delhi, I worked as an independent casting director for many TV shows, advertisements and short films and gradually I got inclined towards my work. I still remember I came to Mumbai on April 7, 2015, with the aim of becoming a casting director. After moving to Mumbai, I called my friend Sanya Bansal after which she helped me connect to the casting director, Harry Parmar. 3 days after coming to Mumbai, I started working with him as a casting assistant for Sony TV's show. But honestly, I did not enjoy working for TV shows as I felt that the creative space is restricted in it. Harry sir always supported me and I consider him as my godfather in this industry.
Q: How has your rapport been with Harry Parmar?
A: I consider him as a backbone in my life. He introduced me to many people and I am thankful to him that he helped me bag my first film 'Ki & Ka' in 2015 as a casting assistant. He later introduced me to Prashant Singh to whom I assisted in numerous ads and did films like 'Trapped' and 'Daddy'. It has been a great learning experience and I feel I have mastered the entire audition process while working with him. After that, I worked with Abhishek Banerjee and Anmol Ahuja as a casting associate in 'Raid'. I feel fortunate enough to have worked with him for projects like 'Batti Gul Meter Chalu' and 'Mirzapur'.
Q: Who are the other important people who have helped you reach new heights in your career?
A: Apart from Harry Parmar, I will always have a special place in my heart for Gautam Kishanchandani who approached me for the film 'Salute', a Rakesh Sharma biopic. Though the film did not get completed but working with him for a year was schooling for me and I developed such a special bond with him that he approached me to work with him in ‘Sacred Games’ season 2 as a casting head. I feel whatever I have achieved today is because of the faith they had in me. Later, I started to work as an independent casting director and my first film was Saregama India’s ‘Music Teacher’. After that, I worked on Shakuntala Devi biopic, Little Things season 3 and a film named Kanpur which will be released by the end of this year.
Q: What are you currently working on and what are your future plans?
A: Currently I am working as a casting director for two films – one is Savitribai Phule biopic and the second one is 'Dustbin'. I am in a really good space right now as I recently started my own firm – Shivam Gupta Casting Company. I am in talks with a lot of people which I can’t reveal as of now. Casting is not a business for me but many people have stepped into casting to earn good money. I believe that casting for films is to promote new talent who has great potential in cinema.
Q: A special message for the aspiring casting directors?
A: Being one of the youngest casting directors in Bollywood, I feel that things have become very advanced now. Technology and digital media are growing rapidly and it is really beneficial for the youth. Having said that, I just want the youth to always follow their passion. If you love something, do it with all your heart or else just don’t do it.
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