Casting director Kavish Sinha speaks about bringing Konkona Sen Sharma and Pankaj Tripathi on board for ‘Metro…In Dino’ as a couple: ‘Good Chemistry these days doesn’t have to be like Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol’s in DDLJ’ – Exclusive – Times of India

Casting director Kavish Sinha has been lauded for getting some of the finest talents on board in projects like ‘Rocket Boys’ or ‘Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway’ amidst other recent projects. Sinha’s upcoming projects look even promising, too. Kavish is currently working with Anurag Basu on the cast of ‘Metro…In Dino’. The film boasts of a very interesting ensemble. It stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Ali Fazal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neena Gupta, Anupam Kher and Pankaj Tripathi.
While Sara and Aditya were cast by director Anurag Basu himself, Kavish has also been instrumental in working with him for the other cast members. Sinha shares, “Anurag Basu cast the lead actors himself. It’s just amazing how easy and difficult Anurag Basu makes the process at the same time. He’s amazing, he’s invovled in everything. I have to tell him sometimes that ‘dada let me take this load off you, it’s okay, you don’t have to get into the casting process’. But it’s such a big franchise. ‘Life In A Metro’ is one of my most favourite films and now I have to live up to the legacy of that. But Dada told me in the first meeting itself that it’s also going to be challenging for him, because I’m the first casting director he’s using. So, it’s tough when you have a maverick director working with you.”

The fact that Konkona and Pankaj have been cast together as a couple is quite intruiging for fans. Ask Kavish about the thought behind it and what people can expect from this on-screen pair and he says, “These are such gifted actors that even if you put them together as enemies, they will still strike chemistry together. It’s so wonderful to have actors like these who have so much knowledge of their craft. They breathe acting everyday. Chemistry is a matter of the love of your craft. Moreover, chemistry these days doesn’t just have to be like Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol’s in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge or Aamir Khan-Karisma Kapoor’s in ‘Raja Hindustani’. Infact, these days, chemistry isn’t just about the romance.”
Emphasising further on the various on-screen equations, he also throws light on another project. Kay Kay Menon and Ranvir Shorey have been cast together in the Indian version of ‘Sherlock Holmes’. While Kay Kay will essay the titular role, Ranvir plays Watson. Kavish adds, “The two actors have such amazing chemistry as Sherlock and Watson that people on the set are mesmerised. I’m hearing stories from the set about the kind of energy that they’re bringing in. It’s a Kay Kay and Ranvir show all the way.”

Kavish is also the casting director on ‘Main Atal Hoon’ starring Pankaj Tripathi as Atal Bihari Vajpayee.