‘I was asked to perform a sc – Firstpost

After Mirzapur fame Isha Talwar slammed Yash Raj Films (YRF) casting director Shanoo Sharma over how she auditioned the actress, Bijou Thaangjam, who featured in Priyanka Chopra starrer Mary Kom, shared his “very first film audition” for Detective Byomkesh Bakshy with Shanoo.

The Hollywood Reporter shared an interview clip with Shanoo Sharma, in which she spoke about casting Aneet Padda in Saiyaara on the Instagram page. Isha then shared a comment there, discussing her audition experience with the casting director.

Now, Bijou Thaangjam revealed that he was asked to perform a scene in front of a Mumbai café by Sharma and commented, “@talwarisha I hear you! My very first film audition was with her, for Byomkesh Bakshy. I wasn’t fluent in Hindi, not very confident, but hopeful to give it my best. And just like your experience, I was asked to perform a scene right in front of a café, the one that used to be called Bru World, Yari Road.”

“I didn’t give in. A few days later, her assistant called me back for a proper studio audition. But by then, I had already signed Mary Kom,” Bijou added.

In the comment section of the video clip, Isha spoke about her experience, which broke her confidence as she wrote, “So when i started auditioning for roles with Shanoo… i was told to perform a scene at a restaurant called Mia cucina in Versova,Bombay … a CRYING scene in the middle of a busy working restaurant with customers dining next to my table … i was told i should have no inhibitions as an actor and hence i should be able to do a crying scene with Shanoo sitting in front of me and some of her assistants … it was such a confusing / weird ask .. it shattered my confidence as a young girl in films … i couldn’t understand why a senior casting director needed to put a young girl through this … it’s only fair that an actor is given a good casting office space to be able to audition in … or if you want to do a real location then hire a spot,pay for it and audition ! Anyway just putting this story a decade later for all the new comers to tell you that feel no pressure … i do remember saying i can’t do it and of course i never got the role … but at least i dint give in to the weird ask and surely dint cry at a restaurant for a role !!!!!”