‘Jaideep Ahlawat came to chill, asked if he can do a cameo’: Kohrra 2’s casting director on traversing Punjab in search of actors

Nikita Grover, the casting director for Kohrra 2, her first independent foray into casting, breaks down her process in an exclusive conversation with SCREEN. She explains that many of the decisions emerge directly from the writing, which, in this case, was assured. “So with Sudip sir, you do multiple readings of the script, and that too across departments, where the aim is to understand what’s the tone of the show, where do these characters belong, how are they speaking, etc. So like only with the characters of Preet (Pooja Bhamrah) and Sam (Rannvijay Singh) were the only ones where we thought we shouldn’t look for actors in Punjab, as they had a city vibe ingrained in them. And for the others, we were clear that they should be rooted in Punjab.”

Reflecting on her decision to traverse the length and breadth of Punjab, auditioning more than 700 to 800 actors, she says, “When I did Season 1 also, I was clear that when an actor moves from Punjab to Mumbai to look for work, a lot of things change. So the plan was to have all these actors rooted in the local terrain of the landscape.” Although this was her third time in the region (first a brief stint during Season 1 of Paatal Lok, and then immersing herself fully in the first season of Kohrra) and despite being Punjabi herself, she admits the process was far from simple.

Nikita Grover discusses casting Pradhuman Singh Mall as Jagdish, Mona Singh’s husband, in the show.

“I went in with the perception, ‘Oh I know some really good actors, it will work,’ but no, it wasn’t easy at all. Because Punjab has so many good actors which the local film industry is not exploring itself. We had struggled a lot to find all these actors, as in the initial months we were exploring Chandigarh but then realised we needed to go all in. So we went to places like Hoshiarpur, Moga, Bathinda, where casting doesn’t even happen. And we tapped each theatre group in every city, so that we don’t miss out on any good talent.” She offers the example of Parminder Pal Kaur, who plays Harsmirat Atwal in Kohrra. A 73-year-old actor with a lifetime devoted to theatre and only minimal screen exposure, the series becomes her most substantial on-screen presence to date. “This is the biggest role she has done and she is so good,” Grover adds.

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“Usually in a show what happens is that for small parts or one-liners you do casting, but here even for the bigger ones we auditioned, because we wanted to break that phenomenon. I feel that there are some remarkable actors existing in these small towns who too should get the chance. So I was sure I wanted to pick up my main actors from small places, like the actor who played Karamjot was from Ludhiana.” At the same time, she was attentive to balance, placing new discoveries alongside established names. “I went to the character of Raju Sirda to Rana Ranbir, who is a big name in the Punjabi film industry, known for her comic parts, or even the decision to go with Rannvijay Singh.”

Nikita Grover believes in immersing herself in the landscape to better understand and capture it through her work.

She also speaks about the much-discussed, almost nonchalant cameo by Jaideep Ahlawat. With disarming candour, she admits she was initially upset and a bit conflicted, having already cast another actor for the part Ahlawat eventually played. “I had cast an actor for that part, but Jaideep just came to chill on set and met all of us, and out of nowhere he asked, ‘Kuch hai kya mere liye? Main kuch karoon?’ (Is there something for me? Should I do something?) So that’s how it happened. And he added those massa (warts) on his face while performing. But my poor actor…” If Ahlawat’s cameo is being widely discussed, so too is the performance of Pradhuman Singh Mall as Jagdish, Mona Singh’s husband in the show.

Davinder Gill portrays Constable Aujla in Kohrra 2

Mall was last widely recognised for playing Osama Bin Laden in Tere Bin Laden. “Since the time I started casting, I have been thinking about him. I always wanted to cast him. But I got to know he had left acting and was moving towards writing, so when I went to him with this, I was like, ‘Please sir, do it for me.’ And I’m very happy that it happened.” Another casting choice she takes particular pride in is Satyakam Anand, best known for Gangs of Wasseypur, who plays Rakesh Kumar in the series. “It was a piece of casting we couldn’t have gone wrong with at all. We were looking for actors who were into physical and body theatre, and eventually started searching for those who do mime. Then we got to know about Satyakam, who has been doing mine for a very long time, and after auditioning him, we were sure about him.”

Another character who has entered the internet’s affection is Constable Aujla (Davinder Singh), whose understated humour offers relief within the show’s austere landscape. “He got locked right at the end, because it’s such a layered comic part, and if you go a little up, it would have fallen apart. And we had auditioned Davinder Singh in Season 1 for some other part, but it didn’t happen. So now we thought of him. He looks very funny, and he has that smile, which went in his favour.”