Mukesh Chhabra opens up about his casting struggles with Atlee for 'Jawan'; cites lack of casting director culture in South films

Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Jawan' was a massive hit at the box office, earning over Rs 650 crore in India. The film, directed by Atlee, also features a star-studded cast including Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara, Deepika Padukone, Priyamani, Ridhi Dogra, and Eijaz Khan, among others.
Recently, the film's casting director, Mukesh Chhabra, shed light on the challenging casting process for ‘Jawan’ and revealed that it took nearly 1.5 years to finalise the cast.
In an interview with Humans of Bombay, Mukesh discussed his experience working with Atlee. He mentioned that it was challenging because South cinema lacks a strong 'casting director culture,' and Atlee was transitioning from the South to Bollywood.
Understanding Atlee's vision was initially difficult, leading to conflicts and friction between them for the first two months.
However, they eventually found the right people for the film through a process of trial and error.
Interestingly, Mukesh Chhabra also had a cameo in the film, which was suggested by Atlee. Mukesh initially couldn't believe it when Atlee asked him to act, but he agreed to do it for fun because Atlee found his sense of humour amusing.

Shah Rukh Khan's next project is Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘Dunki,’ for which Mukesh Chhabra is also the casting director. Mukesh expressed that the film holds a special place for him, suggesting that it will be something remarkable.

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