I Saw Sumeet Vyas Grow From A Nobody To Someone The Youth Is Crazy About – Adityoa Suranna

Be it films or serials, most of the viewers are interested to see what transpires onscreen. Fans are mad about actors and actresses. Some who are a little more knowledgeable about entertainment as a craft may take interest in the director and the producer, but how many times do we see someone interested in the other departments of the industry?

The showbiz is huge! There are specialised departments working in tandem almost day and night to serve the viewers a palatable dish of entertainment. For instance, the actors you see on screen wouldn’t even have existed hadn’t they who cast their eyes on them for the first time hadn’t been there. Anyway…

So, it was a dull and drab Monday morning. Little did I remember that my conversation with someone was pending big time. And that’s when I get a call from an unknown number. Well, it turns out to be him. Yes, I am talking about one of the senior most casting directors in the television industry Adityoa Suranna. This lad has seen it all. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him an encyclopaedia of the TV industry. His work repertoire consists of all the big names in the business! But guess what, his work and his expertise didn’t get the best of him; he is still grounded, understands emotions and is hugely philosophical as well. At least, that’s what I could gauge from our conversation.

Adityoa, are you listening?

In a heart of hearts conversation, Adityoa spilled a lot of the insider’s knowledge and spoke at length about a lot of things, some of which inspired me on a personal level.

Excerpts from the conversation -

You have done the casting for so many popular shows, you have almost worked with the biggest GECs, besides being a casting director and besides doing what you do, what plans do you have for the future?

I have no plans, I take my life as it comes, I am a person who goes with the flow. Because many times, you plan things but they don’t materialise. Having said that, I would like to do something with travelling. I love travelling. I have a small company that is looked after by two other guys. One is a media professional and the other is a writer (not quite known though). Every 5 to 6 months we make short films and put it out there. I do that just to satisfy my creative inclinations. I like to write and produce. I worked in a Marathi film, I was the supervising producer for the film called ‘Andyacha Funda.’ We are a group, we keep doing things of this sort time and again, some come out really well and some don’t.

Do you think, by taking part in reality shows like Bigg boss the contestants start getting work and do you think any kind of fame is there that you can cash on later perhaps? And if the answer is yes, is it short-lived or long lasting?

The fame surely is there, through reality shows. But it is short-lived. And when you are in a reality show, you don’t have to do any hard work. That is again a personal opinion, (he clarifies). There are a few people who were part of reality shows and have made a name for themselves, you can take Ayushmann Khuranna’s instance. There was something in him that he achieved what he did. These reality shows provide a platform to make a name for yourself but in order to keep that going, you have to work harder. These reality shows help for sure but that help has to be utilised in a good way and that is up to you.

If you had to name one actor you had auditioned during his or her initial days after which you thought he or she is very good and today the same person has really made it big in the industry - Who would that be?

There were many but if I have to take a name, I know someone called Harleen Sethi. She had something in her. She was determined to make it. She tried real hard. Sumit Vyas is the second name. I had worked with him on a show called Laut Aao Trisha., It used to be telecast on Life Ok. I was the one to cast for the pilot shoot and then it took a leap. Sumeet was there in the show, no one knew him them but now, he is really a big thing! He is a friend of mine, I know him well. I have seen the difference. I have seen him growing up from someone who was not known to someone whom the youth worships.

How do you feel when the actors forget you or they don’t consider you and what you do to be important enough or worthy enough probably to be acknowledged?

We are all working here. I feel it is really absurd that people expect others to be grateful to you. I don’t. I am no God. I am just doing my job to cast for a given show or series I am working. I just feel, you need to be good at what you do. I don’t expect you to be all praises for me but at the same time, I don’t want you to talk bad behind my back. I am not a person who is always looking for credit. And moreover, everyone has his own destiny. Therefore, even if I don’t cast him and he still is destined to get that role, someone else will. There are different kinds of people, there are people who show gratitude and there are people who don’t. I’d say to each his own!

After speaking to many casting directors, I have come to one conclusion and that is all of them have one opinion - which is – Casting is a thankless job. That’s because, for instance, if someone is cast for a particular role, in the long run if the serial grows in leaps and bounds and the character is appreciated and the actor is awarded; on the stage he doesn’t thank the casting director, he thanks the producer but that is not fair because it was the casting director who for the first time auditioned him or her and thought he or she was worthy enough to bag the role which is why he sent your audition tape to the producer. The producer doesn’t have the time to go through every audition tape – Therefore, when the time comes and the casting director is not even acknowledged. That’s harsh! What is your take on it?

(After a lot of deliberation) Well, frankly, I have not really faced such a situation or perhaps never quite paid attention to it. It happened once, I remember and the actor had taken my name on stage. He had taken a few names and one was mine. But again, as I had previously mentioned, my job is to get actors and put them in front of the channel and the producer to choose. Therefore, if the actor thanks me, I am ok and if not, well and good. I just expect one thing and that is, when the actor meets me, his demeanour shouldn’t change and he should meet me the way he met me for the first time. I feel weird if I gauge that when he was a nobody he used to speak to me nicely and now that he has gained a position in the industry, he is ignoring me.