Ashutosh Gowariker casts a Sherpa kid in Everest

Ashutosh Gowariker with Namgyal

While shooting for his TV production, Everest, at the Dokrani Glacier for a month, film-maker-producer Ashutosh Gowariker met Namgyal, a local Nepali kid who along with his father accompanied Ashutosh and his team on the long trek to Dokrani.
So fascinated was Gowariker with the knowledge of this nine-year-old Sherpa kid that he ended up casting him in the show. Namgyal will now be seen in four episodes of the show that airs on Star Plus. A source from the channel’s programming team says “Ashutosh is a perfectionist. Unless he is convinced of someone’s capabilities, he won’t cast them. But the kid got selected without auditioning.”
From the base camp to the Dokrani Glacier is a long, tiring trek of four days and the local Sherpas helped the team in a big way. Namgyal now plays himself on-screen. “He will be seen guiding the team in the show.”