Inaamulhaq on casting mechanism in Bollywood: "Today if someone like Rajinikanth were starting out, a casting director might not even forward his profile"

Inaamulhaq is also known for his work in films like Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Pippa, and Lucknow Central among others.

Inaamulhaq is one of the most seasoned and versatile actors in Bollywood, best known for his work in films like Jolly LLB 2, Airlift and more. The actor recently opened up about a major issue in the film industry- its casting mechanism.

In a conversation with Digital Commentary, Inaamulhaq candidly shared that despite his long career, the industry continues to overlook him — to the extent that many still identify him primarily as “Akshay Kumar’s co-actor” because of their repeated collaborations.

He said, “I see a lot of outsiders, and you can genuinely feel their frustration. Many of them live in Versova, I live there too, and whenever I meet them, there’s a visible sadness. This sadness mostly stems from the unfair practices of casting agencies. I feel directors need to take more responsibility. They comfortably sit in their air-conditioned offices, receive a shortlist of 10 actors, and make their decisions based on that. But my question is, who are these 10 actors being shortlisted?"

He further said, "Isn’t it possible they’re simply the ones who are close to the casting directors? Can we really say that the process is genuine? What’s stopping these lists from being manipulated?”

Inaamulhaq also reflected on how, in earlier times, there was a sense of freedom where anyone could simply walk in for an audition. He noted that casting departments were managed internally, and if a director happened to notice someone during one of these auditions, it could completely change that person’s life — citing Subhash Ghai’s discovery of Jackie Shroff as an example.

Also read: Sanjay Gupta reveals shocking Bollywood entourage demands: “I know actors with six vans, ek mein sahab nanga baithte hain, ek mein kitchen..."

Speaking of veteran actor Rajnikanth, he said, "Rajinikanth was a bus conductor when someone spotted him, and today, he’s a legend. But in today’s environment, if someone like Rajinikanth were starting out, a casting director might not even forward his profile. So instead of blaming casting directors alone, I want to tell the directors and producers: please bring back in-house casting. You’re lagging behind, and that’s why we keep seeing the same 10 to 12 faces on screen.”

Inaamulhaq is also known for his work in films like Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Pippa, and Lucknow Central among others.