IFFI 2019: Sriram Raghavan says casting A-listers not easy, enjoyed working with Ayushmann

One of Asia's biggest film festivals, The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), recently began and is currently still ongoing in the Goa. The opening ceremony of IFFI 2019 also featured two of India's biggest stars, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth going onto the stage to start off the event. Rajinikanth received the Icon of Golden Jubilee Award for his contribution to cinema and then proceeded to honour fellow actor Amitabh with praise for his dedication to Indian film Industry. Recently, Sriram Raghavan, director of films such as Andhadhun, also showed up at the event. He was then questioned about the script choices of actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Varun Dhawan, and this is what Sriram had to say. 

Sriram on Ayushmann, and Varun Dhawan

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In the interview at IFFI, Sriram Raghavan was asked about the script choices of actors Ayshmann Khurrana and Varun Dhawan. To this question, Sriram replied by saying that he was lucky to have caught them before they became the big stars that they are now. He added that he did not know if the same actors, after five big successes, would consider doing something that is off-beat. 

He also spoke about how the actors have realized that visuals thing do not work anymore. He says that occasionally, big star-driven movies do very well but they are willing to experiment. However, he also states that big-name stars do not embrace all kinds of roles and casting them is not easy. Sriram says that for every film that he has done, several actors have also refused. According to him, it is all about catching the right person who is hungry for a good and different role. 

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IFFI started on November 20, 2019, and will go on for the rest of this week, ending on November 29, 2019. 750 countries are participating in the event, with around 250 movies being featured on-screen over the course of the festival. Several of the films will also be competing in multiple Award categories. The festival is held to promote diversity and unity between the countries of the Asian continent. It is also a way for filmmakers from different countries to understand the various techniques and themes that are popular in another country. 

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