EXCLUSIVE! Rajat Kapoor On Casting For Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa: Vinay Pathak Was First Person I Sent...

Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, tighten up your seat belts as ZEE5 has presented a new murder mystery that promises to keep you on the edge of your seats. Imagine an intriguing storyline, star-studded cast and impactful twist in the climax- these are enough to keep you engaged, isn't it?

As Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa received love and adulation from all corners, the captain of the ship, Rajat Kapoor, shared insights about the film. In an exclusive conversation with Filmibeat Chief Copy Editor Abhishek Ranjit, the ace director-actor got candid about casting for the film, and revealed how long it took to complete the script.

Here are excerpts from the interview

If someone asks me what is the USP of this film, other than your writing and direction, it would be the star cast. Did you have the actors in mind while penning the script?

Not at all, not at all. I never do that. When I am writing a script, it's just writing. And I am trying to find characters then. I am trying to figure out how to make this more interesting.

What is the flaw of this character? What is the saving grace of this character? What does he or she do? And so I go to the end of the script, finding characters. And after that, I don't think about it till I find a person who is excited about making the film.

And then I start the casting process.

How long did it take to complete the script for Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa?

This one got made quickly, actually. Other scripts have had to wait 7 years, 8 years sometimes, to get made. This one was written in 2020. Applause came on board in 2021. And in 2022, February, we were shooting it. So it was actually quite quick.

Within a year and a half of writing it, we were shooting it. So that's actually very fast. But then, after MAMI, it took two-and-a-half years again to find a release. All thanks to ZEE5, we have a platform where the audience can enjoy the movie.

Such a star-studded cast. Walk us through the casting process.

Vinay Pathak was the first person I sent the script to. I believed he would be the perfect choice to play Sohrab Handa. I thought I'd ask him to play Handa and sent him the script, and he read it. He liked the script.

When I asked him what role he would like to play, he quipped, "If I get to play Sohrab Handa, it will be fun." And I said, "Exactly what I was thinking for you. This is how Vinay got locked."

Then I asked Ranvir, and he also came on board. I did ask some of my friends, who are actors, but they didn't have the dates. So there were some changes.

I wrote to Koel Purie as I had worked with her in Mixed Doubles. She was in Paris, and she said yes. So yeah, slowly and steadily, everybody filled in.

Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa is available for streaming on ZEE5.