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For someone who has spent his life helping others take centre stage, Mukesh Chhabra rarely seeks the spotlight. But when he enters a room, he doesn’t need it. His energy does the work for him. He’s warm, quick with a joke, and quicker still to notice what most people overlook — a flicker of doubt, a hint of potential, a person just beginning to believe in oneself.

It’s this understated superpower that has made him one of Indian cinema’s most trusted casting directors. From breakout choices in Kai Po Che!, Gangs of Wasseypur, and Dangal to recent hits like Scam 1992, Laal Singh Chaddha, and Jawan, Chhabra is widely credited with reshaping how Bollywood discovers talent, consistently introducing fresh, unexpected faces who’ve gone on to become household names. Think Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra, Tripti Dimri, among many others.

His company, Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company, has worked on over 300 films and hundreds of web series and commercials, redefining the role of the casting director from a behind-the-scenes, often mysterious, figure to a frontline creative force. But behind the successes, and the infectious laughter, is a story of someone who’s been carrying more than he lets on.

“Humour is the only way to deal with stress,” says Chhabra, who was recently in Dubai to host his first acting workshop, JUST ACT, a seven-day masterclass co-led with Kabir Khan, the acclaimed director of the Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

One of the most sought-after casting directors in Bollywood, Chhabra works in a space where every decision carries weight, shaping lives and dreams in ways one can only fathom. “The stress, the tension... My work comes with immense responsibility. People come to me with hope in their eyes. If I show them my heaviness, I’ll end up taking something from them. And that’s not fair.”

Actor Vineet Kumar Singh with Mukesh Chhabra at the JUST ACT workshop in Dubai

He may work in one of the most competitive film industries in the world, but he refuses to pass on the burden. “I’ve been through my share of grief,” he says, with a softer voice. “And it doesn’t go away. It just changes shape. Sometimes it’s loud. Sometimes it sits in the corner of the room. But it’s always there. You learn to walk with it.”

Chhabra never once considered stepping away. Not when he lost his lead actor and close friend Sushant Singh Rajput weeks before the release of his debut directorial, Dil Bechara. Not even when he lost his mother, Kamla Chhabra, in 2023.

Through it all, he’s continued to show up — to classes, to auditions, to crowded rooms filled with nervous newcomers. He’s kept nurturing young talent, kept laughing with them, kept believing in the magic of fresh starts. “I think the only thing that saved me was work. I love it so much. I have never taken a vacation in my life. Not because I couldn’t, but because I never felt the need. This is my holiday. I rest through work. It’s what keeps me alive.”

Hunger to do more

But if you think he’s driven purely by ambition, you’d be mistaken. Because what guides him isn’t just his hunger to do more, but also his intuition. A quiet, almost spiritual kind of gut instinct that’s only sharpened over time. “In this world of reels and filters and likes, it’s so easy to get lost,” he says. “Everyone’s trying to be seen. But very few are actually listening to their gut. That inner voice? It’s still the most honest thing you have.”

He says he protects his intuition like it’s a fragile heirloom. And perhaps it is. In an industry where voices get shaped, smoothed, and sometimes jaded by the machinery, Chhabra stays rooted by surrounding himself with people who knew him before the fame. His old friends. His family. People who see him, not his filmography. “The moment your circle keeps changing, your gut gets diluted. You forget who you are. And in this line, if you forget that, you’ve lost everything.”

It’s this clarity that informs his casting choices too. He reads a script again and again until the characters feel like people he knows. Then, and only then, does he begin imagining who can carry that truth on screen. “I don’t go by faces. I go by feeling. Sometimes someone walks into the room and surprises me. I can’t explain it. But I know they’re right. That’s the magic of it. The surprise.”

When asked what he’s usually looking for in an audition as a casting director, he’s quick to respond, “The truth is, the more honest someone is in an audition, the more powerful it is. Even if they mess up lines. Honesty moves people. That’s what I’m always chasing.”

The Dubai factor

Recently, that search brought him to Dubai, where he conducted an acting workshop that left him unexpectedly inspired. He was taken aback by how much raw, untrained talent exists here and how little of it has access to platforms that could truly nurture it.

He envisions a future where Dubai becomes a casting destination in its own right. Not an extension of Mumbai, but a new, parallel space where stories from this region can take centre stage. And he doesn’t want to wait. “There’s a massive gap,” he says. “I want to do so much more in Dubai. I want to come back, host a full-fledged masterclass, maybe even collaborate with local theatre groups. This isn’t just a one-off visit. It feels like the beginning of something long-term.”

Lastly, when asked about one faux pas an aspiring actor should never commit, Chhabra doesn’t mince his words. “Don’t ask me ‘When will I get the part?’” he says, smiling but firm. “That’s not how this works. You’re not here to chase roles, you’re here to chase honesty. If you’re doing it just to be picked, you’ll lose the joy of the process. The right part will come when you’re ready, but you can’t force it.”

Because, after all, “You don’t need to be perfect,” says Chhabra. “Acting is not about showing off. It’s about showing up. Just show up with your truth. That’s all I need to see.”

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