Disney Can’t Find An Actor For Aladdin

Disney studios are struggling to find any actor of Indian descent, for their upcoming live motion film titled Aladdin. According to reports online, film’s director Guy Ritchie is finding it difficult to lock in actors of “Indian or Middle-Eastern” origin, since he wants them to be able to sing, and dance, as the live action film is said to be a musical.

Last month, the production house had issued a casting call, asking interested candidates to come and audition for the titular roles of Aladdin and Jasmine. The auditions were held in Delhi and Mumbai, and the finalised candidates were taken to London.

However, latest reports suggest that even after auditioning 2000 candidates, makers still couldn’t decided on anyone, as the auditions weren’t really great. “The test process was a mess,” a casting agent was quoted as saying by The Hollywood Reporter.

The reports also suggest that Ritchie has found his Jasmine for the film. Depending on who will play Aladdin, (makers want to get the chemistry between Aladdin and Jasmine right) the role of Jasmine is going to be a toss up between American origin actor Naomi Scott, and 19-year-old Mumbai origin actor-singer Tara Sutaria. The makers don’t want a known name to play Aladdin, since they want to cash in on Will Smith’s stardom, who plays the genie, and feel that choosing a known name for Aladdin might hamper that.

In March, it was announced that actor Will Smith will be giving the voice-over voicing for the iconic Genie in the movie. The character has earlier appeared in the Disney animated film, which was released in 1992, and actor Robin Williams was the voice behind him.