Vedaa: Kshitij Chauhan Opens Up On His ‘Casting’ Connect With Abhishek Banerjee

With the Independence Day release Vedaa, Kshitij Chauhan made a smashing entry into the film world with his villainous performance. He played Abhishek Banerjee's younger brother and while it was their first team up on screen, they have a prior connection of casting.

Abhishek and Kshitij both used to assist casting director Gautam Kishanchandni, who had also worked as an AD to Anurag Kashyap. "Back in the day, during Black Friday, Dev D and No One Killed Jessica, he was one of the first casting directors that emerged during that time. Abhishek was already assisting him and I joined them in 2019 because I wanted to learn the process of how to audition. I feel casting is a very good institution to learn," Kshitij shares.

The casting connection made his first meeting with Abhishek for Vedaa quite memorable. "I still remember the first day we met for Vedaa, costume trials were going on and the first thing we connected on was our past connect," he reveals, adding that Abhishek's journey also had many parallels with his own.

I had watched one of Abhishek's interviews where he shared that Gautam sir had told him he was good at giving cues and would be a good actor. He told him to begin casting as it would help him. During my first project as a casting intern, Gautam sir had said that I give good cues and can be a good actor too. So, I would draw parallels in my journey with Abhishek's and it would give me confidence. When things work that way, it gives you a validation that you are going in the right direction. And eventually I got a chance to work with Abhishek itself, so it has been a full circle moment" Kshitij concludes