Bollywood actor Abhishek Banerjee, who was most recently seen in the movies Vedaa and Stree 2 , began his career as a casting director. He has cast actors for a number of big projects before becoming an actor himself. Recently, he spoke about the trend of casting Instagram influencers in movies because they have high follower count rather than real actors with experience and training.
In a new conversation with Sucharita Tyagi on her YouTube channel, Banerjee, who runs the casting company Casting Bay, talked about the rampant practice of prioritizing social media clout over talent. A post shared by Abhishek Banerjee (@nowitsabhi) Speaking about the same, he said, “This is a reality I face as both a casting director and an actor. We need to break this habit.
The issue isn’t that influencers are becoming actors; the issue arises when you are deciding to cast someone based on their followers. For instance, if you’ve narrowed down three people for a role, but choose the third-best candidate because they have more followers, that’s a serious problem. A thumbnail bait might attract viewers to the first episode, but no one will invest nine hours into a web show solely because someone has followers.
Many people have more followers than Shah Rukh Khan, but there isn’t a bigger star than him – so comparisons based on followers are rubbish.” Banerjee then explained the many differences between acting on the big screen and creating content for social media, saying that the two mediums require entirely different skill sets. Despite being a casting director himself, Banerjee has faced this bias firsthand, missing out on roles due to his follower count.
A post shared by Abhishek Banerjee (@nowitsabhi) The actor added, “The demand for actors with significant followings has surged post-pandemic. Recently, I asked a director why I wasn’t being considered for a particular role, and he told me the makers were only interested in casting people with millions of followers. He genuinely wanted to cast me, but that’s what he was instructed to do.
The film industry already poses enough barriers for outsiders, and now the requirement for a substantial Instagram following has become yet another obstacle.” On the work front, Abhishek Banerjee will next star in Section 84 with Amitabh Bachchan, and then in Vipul Shah’s Hisab with Jaideep Ahlawat. See Also: Abhishek Banerjee Rubbishes Reports About Being Fired By Dharma, Says 'I Have Deep Respect For Karan Johar'.
