Casting Director Sanjeev Maurya who has worked for projects like ‘The White Tiger’, ‘A Suitable Boy’, ‘Extraction’, ‘Angry Indian Goddess’, ‘Bhor: A Dawn’, ‘Fan’ among others is currently garnering accolades for his recently released show ‘Trial By Fire’ on Netflix starring Abhay Deol, Rajshri Deshpande, Anupam Kher, Ratna Pathak Shah, Ashish Vidyarthi and others.
Based on the 1997 Uphaar Cinema Tragedy, it has been adapted from Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy's book ‘Trial By Fire: The Tragic Tale’ of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy which is helmed by Prashant Nair, Randeep Jha and Avani Deshpande.
Sharing about the responses he is receiving for the show he says, "We've been hearing a great deal about it from everyone. I think it's a show that's really moving people. People are really appreciating the ensemble cast."
Advertisement
Talking about how did they went with the casting process for the show he says, "Being from Delhi and having personally seen the time of the Uphaar tragedy, knowing people who lost their families and friends to it, I truly believed in the power of this show. After the first narration with Prashant, I knew, and Prashant also agreed, that our primary focus should be good performers rather than focussing on the names. As a show inspired by reality, we made sure that our research around the story and the people we're representing is detailed, as we wanted to do justice to it from our end."
Advertisement
Sharing about the challenges of casting for a show based on true incidents Sanjeev states, "Well, there is a lot of research involved, for sure. But the material, instances and everything helps us get a gist of characters even beyond the script. Though sticking to something real might seem like a boundary, but it also allows us to better understand the liberty to be taken. While casting we like to know if there's a connection that the actor finds with the story and the character, which adds to the silver lining."
On speaking about how Abhay Deol, Rajshri Deshpande, and Ashish Vidyarthi got cast he reveals, "For Neelam Krishnamoorthy (played by Rajshri Deshpande), we auditioned a lot of actors pan India, though Rajshri's performance during the audition stood out for me and Prashant. For Shekhar Krishnamoorthy (played by Abhay Deol), we were looking for a seasoned actor to come aboard. We auditioned actors from the south industry as well for this. But, both Prashant and I were convinced that the conviction that Abhay will bring to the project, the way he makes you believe by being in the moment, is what we needed for Shekhar Krishnamoorthy. For Neeraj Suri (played by Ashish Vidhyarti), following the same process, we conducted auditions pan India, but the vibe and controlled energy that was needed for Neeraj's character, Ashish became the top choice for it."
