A cinematographer paints with light. A sound engineer fiddles with frequencies and waveforms. A casting director, meanwhile, communicates through people. Even before a character has spoken a line of dialogue, their manner, stance, eyeline, physical attributes or ethnicity can stir the audience's imagination. A cleft in the chin or a quirk of speech can reveal entire histories. It's a delicate, intensely practical art form, but an art form it is, which is why — back in 2024 — the Academy Awards finally moved to honour achievements in casting. Cassandra Kulukundis, casting director of One Battle After Another, became the first recipient of the casting Oscar in 2026.
In India, one practitioner of the subtle art of effective casting is Karan Mally. If you've been watching recent Hindi films and shows — and paying attention to the credit rolls — chances are you have come across his name. I started reviewing professionally in 2017, the year that Tumhari Sulu released, and have often jotted down Mally's name in my notes. In Karwaan (2018), an unusually charming road comedy, he yolked together the unlikely trio of Mithali Palkar, Dulquer Salmaan and Irrfan Khan. Along with veteran casting director Nandini Shrikant, he found the hundred or so faces in Gully Boy (2019), or the many memorable players in Made in Heaven and Dahaad. "I always go with instinct and the feeling that a brief evokes in me," says Mally, whose recent credits include Superboys of Malegaon, The B**ds of Bollywood, the hit romantic series Musafir Cafe and the viral reality show Traitors.
Born in Bangalore, Mally studied engineering for a year, then dropped out to pursue theatre in Mumbai. He trained under noted theatre director and actor Atul Kumar. An opportunity to intern with Shrikant paved the way for a long-term professional partnership. Mally debuted as an actor in the OTT series Locked Inn, directed by his wife, filmmaker Maanavi Bedi. In 2025, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, alongside Kamal Haasan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Payal Kapadia and others from India.
In a wide-ranging chat with THR India, Mally unpacked his craft, how certain actors landed certain roles, and the film industry's attitudes to casting. Excerpts...
In a podcast, you spoke strongly about keeping a detailed database of actors, going to watch plays regularly, having your eyes and ears on the ground. One perception is that modern casting has shifted to finding people on Instagram.
It's a perception. I don't think that's the reality. At least I hope it's not. Be it me, Nandini, Anmol Ahuja, Tess Joseph... we still follow the usual process. I have thousands of emails and portfolios in my database. You can call it old-school, but I feel that's the right way to do it. I'd be heartbroken if anyone's casting using Instagram. I have not seen any good films and shows come out of that method.
Social media does open a vertical for us to find actors to audition. It's like how, earlier, we'd look at ads and find new people. But that's it. I have heard stories of people getting cast solely because of their social media following, but the audience is smarter than that. Nobody goes to watch a film because their favourite influencer is in it for five minutes.
I can think of some films like that. Do directors or producers insist on casting influencers?
None of the people I've worked with have ever asked me to find an influencer. There was a character in Dream Girl (2019) who was supposed to be a TikToker. But even then, we didn't go with a real TikToker because we were like, ‘We need an actor.’ Raj Bhansali, who's a very, very good actor, auditioned and got the part. More recently, in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023), there's a part which is played by Anya Singh eventually. We did consider the options of casting an influencer, but they didn't make the cut.
I want to revisit some clever casting choices you've made over the years. Let's start with Jyoti Subhash, who plays Ranveer Singh's grandmother in Gully Boy. How did that happen?
There are only a limited number of actors in that age group. The character's lines were quite powerful in the script, so we knew it had to be a great actor. I had seen some of Joytiji's Marathi work and also met her once for another project. Her grasp of the lingo was spot-on for Murad's grandmother, so we cast her.
Amazingly, a few days later, we found out that Amruta Subhash, who was playing Murad's mother, is the real-life daughter of Jyoti Subhash. It was an total coincidence.
Another pick is Suhaas Ahuja in The Archies (2023). He plays Archie's dad, and there's a lovely scene where he speaks about the patriotism of the Anglo-Indian community.
When Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti write anything, they are extremely clear about what the character will look and sound like. This is a role that comes from the comic books. Archie's dad is a sweet guy and has a deep affection for his son. We had already cast Agastya (Nanda) in the title role, so we needed someone who could look like his father. He had to be neither too young nor too old. We were testing a lot of people and Suhaas just gave an excellent audition and landed the part.
What is the hardest fight you have had to put up for an actor?
In Musafir Cafe, for the character of Sudha, Vedika (Pinto) gave a not-so-great audition in the first round. She had just returned from shooting Nishaanchi, and perhaps she wasn't in the right mental space or was unwell. But she came and gave the audition because she's a friend and I'd called her. She told me upfront, ‘I'm telling you, it's not going to be good.’
And I don't think everyone liked it. But they saw something in her. So we had multiple rounds of discussions. I like to audition actors multiple times if I see a possibility. Sometimes the actors might think, ‘Arre yaar, why is he making me audition again and again if I'm good?’
But the truth is that we want them to get the part. And with Vedika, that turned out to be magical.
Can you give another example?
There's an upcoming movie called Mess, which Hrithik Roshan has produced and it's got Pratik Gandhi in the lead. For the girl, I suggested testing an actor that the director wasn't convinced of. And I was like, ‘You know what? I really think that she works for the part.’ I auditioned her and sent the tape to the director. He saw it and he was like, ‘Wow, yes. She is perfect, chalo!’
Do you find yourself casting in crisis?
So on Made In Heaven, we had over 300 characters and we recast half of them. A lot of it used to happen overnight. I would get a call at 3 or 4 am saying, ‘Tomorrow there’s a 2 pm shift. This actor has fallen sick.’ The first season was a massive schedule with a big cast. I would go through the bank and see, okay, who were the other shortlists? I would call them and say, ‘Hey, can you please make an audition in the next one hour and send it?’ And then maybe you'll have to fly to Delhi in the middle of the night.'
You are great at assembling trios. In Jigra (2024), you paired Rahul Ravindran and Manoj Pahwa with Alia Bhatt. Not many people would land on that combination.
Jigra is a special film for me. I feel that a lot of the casting on that film was really good. The results are not in anyone's control, but I was happy with what I achieved. For the character of Muthu, an Indian immigrant in a fictional South Asian country, we needed a guy who can speak Tamil. I was familiar of Rahul Ravindran's work and had auditioned him a couple of times. He's also a director. I remember when we called him, he was in Chennai and I had to brief him over the call. It was a long audition. By the end of it, he just worked for the kind of person we wanted for Muthu.
For Bhatia, Manoj (Pahwa) was our first choice from the moment we read the script. I was praying he would agree to do the film and he did.
But how did you know the three of them would work as a trio?
When you read a script, you get certain images in your mind. You ignore all your presumptions and read it like a story. That's something that I've learned from Nandini: to read the script first as an audience. And then the second time is when we sit down to start writing ideas and names of actors that are coming to mind. That's the process I follow even now.
Have you ever taken a punt on a non-actor or someone with no training at all, but who fit the part?
I hope not. I hope not. (laughs)
Is there factionalism in your world? If an actor lands roles through one casting director or agency, are they not supposed to go to others?
Every casting director has their way of working and building professional relationships. I might like some actors more than others, but it's not factionalism, I just actually like their acting more.That doesn't make them better than the others. Another casting director might like a different set of people. It's always about who fits the part and not about them being my friend. In fact, most of my friends who are actors, they always complain I never cast them.
But, say, if an actor picks a project over the one you are offering, would that wreck the relationship?
It might with other people. I don't take these things personally. I do believe that everybody has a journey. Just because I have cast them once does not mean they will always work with me. If someone tells me, ‘I did that film for you, can you give me another film?’, I can't. So why should I expect the same?
Do you find casting for reality shows creatively satisfying?
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work on two of the best non-scripted shows: Traitors 1 and 2 and Alliance. They are clutter-breakers focused on intelligent gameplay, strategy, etc. It is a new age of reality shows and I am having fun with it. It's fun to interview people and get to know their personalities. I think aspiring actors should not discriminate between fiction and non-fiction. When you do a good reality show, you start getting noticed more.
We got Ayushman Khurrana from Roadies.
Exactly. So I think that age is coming back.
What are your upcoming projects?
I have done the second season of Rise and Fall. There is a very interesting Marathi film, Yeto Ka Naay, that actor Sarang Sathaye is making. It's Hombale Films' first Marathi film and Sarang has co-written and directed it. It's a pretty cool film, rooted in Marathi hip-hop and youth culture.
Is there an actor you want to see more often in Hindi films?
Pankaj Kapoor. I would really like to watch more of him.