Actor and casting director Abhishek Banerjee has always been vocal about his thoughts and experiences. As he basks in the success of his latest release, ‘Stree 2’, he opens up about his views on casting influencers over actors. Criticizing this practice, Banerjee emphasized that acting ability should outweigh the number of social media followers. He has previously worked as a casting director on films such as ‘The Sky Is Pink’, ‘No One Killed Jessica’, and ‘The Dirty Picture’.

In an interview with Suchitra Tyagi, Banerjee, who is part of Maddock’s supernatural universe, discussed his early days. Further, he shared his candid thoughts on the practice of casting influencers over actors.

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Banerjee said, “This is a reality I face as both a casting director and an actor. I have encountered it recently. We need to break this habit. The issue isn’t influencers becoming actors. If you can act, you should be able to come from anywhere and act. The problem arises when casting decisions are made based on followers. You might see auditions and shortlist three people… then you say all are good, but the second one is really exceptional. However, the third one has more followers, and that’s a serious problem. It will trap us. By the time the industry realizes this is wrong, it will be too late.”

He elaborated on the flawed rationale behind the practice, noting that a single thumbnail might attract viewers for an episode. However, no viewer will invest hours in a web series solely because of someone’s follower count. Citing Shah Rukh Khan as an example, he pointed out that despite Bollywood’s Badshah having 45 million followers, no one else is a bigger star than him, and such comparisons are baseless. Banerjee also noted that it’s not the casting director’s job to consider popularity—this responsibility falls to the producer.

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Meanwhile, in another interview with NDTV, Abhishek Banerjee revealed the rules he has implemented to ensure a safe working environment for women. He disclosed that he has banned meetings outside office premises due to their unprofessional nature. Additionally, no member of his agency is allowed to text a woman beyond a “certain hour.” Banerjee even mentioned that he has fired employees for violating this protocol.