Abhishek Banerjee – Bollywood casting director and actor best known for his roles in ‘Stree’,‘Dream Girl’ etc

Abhishek Banerjee is a casting director, screenwriter and character artist associated with Bollywood since year 2006. A theatre artist based in Delhi, Abhishek started his film journey through a brief role in Aamir Khan starrer Rang De Basanti, and as a casting director he began his career in 2010. Since then he has appeared in brief roles in some of the movies for which he acted as a casting director. As an actor he got a major break through 2019 comedy flick, ‘Dream Girl’, where he portrayed the hilarious role of Mahinder Rajput, Nushrat Bharucha’s brother. His comic role as Jaana, Vicky’s friend in 2018 blockbuster Stree also got noticed.

Abhishek Banerjee hails from Delhi and belongs to a Bengali family. To pursue a career in acting he shifted to Mumbai after completing studies. As an actor he was first seen in Rang De Basanti (2006), where he played a student auditioning for a documentary role. Yet it took many years more than a decade to make his mark as an actor in Bollywood film industry. In 2018 he received a major break through Stree, where he played one among Rajkummar Rao’s close pals. The following year he played the role of a devotee of Hanuman in Dream Girl, who gets smitten by the voice of a girl at a call centre. Some of the hilarious scenes of the movie, because of his transformation exclusively belong to him also.

As a casting director, Abhishek Banerjee’s debut flick was Knock Out in 2010. He worked as a casting director for some of the memorable films of the decade such as No One Killed Jessica, The Dirty Picture, Secret Superstar, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha etc. Kalank, Ok Jaanu, Do Lafzon Ki Kahani, Mickey Virus, Rock On 2, Pari, Gabbar Is Back etc are a few more. He was seen in Bollywood films – Pari, Secret Superstar, Bombay Talkies, Stree etc. He has been the part of web series such as Mirzapur, TVF Pitchers, Humorously Yours, Typewriter etc. He acted in a few short films such as Fuddu Boys, Agli Baar etc.

Abhishek Banerjee – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. As a child he was introvert. He played Lord Rama in one of his school plays, and got interested in the field of acting.

2. After reaching Mumbai in mid-2000s he struggled for many years to get roles. Disheartened Abhishek decided to return to his hometown, when luck struck him in the role of ‘casting director’ profile.

3. He shared screen space with Ayushmann Khurrana for two of his big hits of 2019 – Dream Girl and Bala, and with his younger brother for Stree the previous year.

4. He co-scripted 2018 flick, Pari, thus marking his debut as a screenwriter.

5. He was nominated for Best Actor in a Comic Role at Zee Cine Awards for his role in Stree.

6. Apart from films, he works as a casting director for ads and web series.

7. He worked as an associate casting director for Once Upon a time in Mumbai. It was his first stint in this field.

8. His wife Tina Noronha is a model, architect and interior designer.

9. His father worked as a black cat commando in paramilitary force.

10. Travelling and music are his favourite hobbies.