Mukesh Chhabra: We wanted the police officers in 'Delhi Crime' to look as real as possible

'Delhi Crime', based on the investigations in the brutal Nirbhaya gang rape, won Best Drama Series at the 48th International Emmy Awards. Viewers and critics have pointed out how the actors in the series - Shefali Shah, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang and Rasika Dugal – look exactly like the real-life police officers. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra spoke to us about what he was looking for when he cast these actors in the series.
'We wanted the police officers in the series to look as real as possible’
Since ‘Delhi Crime' is based on investigations in a real incident, the series had to look as real as possible. Mukesh says, “The most important part of any casting is what the director is looking for. In the case of ‘Delhi Crime’, the brief given by writer-director Richie Mehta was very clear – we had to make the characters look as real as possible. So, I chose actors according to the same. For instance, look at Rajesh Tailang’s character – that’s how an investigating officer looks. Same goes for Rasika Dugal and Jaya Bhattacharya.”
Similarly, for Vartika Chaturvedi, Mukesh wanted someone who could look authoritative and yet had a soft side to them. He says, “To play Vartika Chaturvedi, we wanted someone who has authority, and at the same time, is a mother, and that’s why Shefali Shah came to mind. Once she gave the audition, we knew we had found DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in her.”
Mukesh says, “I’ve got so many calls from real-life policemen, who told me that the casting of police officers in the series was on point. From the constable to the CP, I chose actors who, to the viewers, would look as close to police officers as possible. And not just policemen, but every actor had a real feel - like you’ve met such people in life.”
He adds, “Since ‘Delhi Crime’ was a series and not a biopic, we didn’t have to find actors who look like the characters they were playing. Since their faces and personalities were not known, we didn’t have to fit actors into a particular public image – we only needed good actors who had to maintain the dignity and stature of the police officials. Also, I’ve closely observed the Delhi Police officials for years, which helped me cast the actors.”
‘In Bollywood, policemen have a certain look; in web series, they are as real as possible’
From Raj Kapoor’s 'Shree 420' (1955) to films such as 'Deewar', 'Zanjeer', 'Don' and others, Iftekhar was Bollywood’s go-to actor to play a policeman, while in recent times, various actors, including Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and John Abraham, have played a cop on screen. Mukesh says, “Iftekhar was always cast as the honest Bollywood cop because at that time actors would be stereotyped into roles. If an actor played a police officer, he would get similar roles. The same happened when casting doctors and mothers. However, now actors aren’t stereotyped. There is no set formula to cast a police officer anyway. I don’t look for a certain physique or look to cast a police officer. When I meet IAS, IPS officers in real life, I observe them. Officers like Chhaya Sharma, who was DCP South during the Nirbhaya case, or IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, all look very different. In Bollywood films, police officers have a certain look, but in web series, they are cast to look as real as possible.”