Abhishek Banerjee, who recently starred in the hit film Stree 2, has spoken out against the trend of casting influencers based solely on their Instagram following. In a recent interview with Sucharita Tyagi on her YouTube channel, the actor and casting director shared his concerns about the industry's focus on social media popularity over acting talent.
Abhishek Banerjee SLAMS trend of casting influencers based on Instagram followers: “By the time the industry will come to realise that this is wrong, it will be too late”Abhishek Banerjee on casting influencers
"This is a reality I face as both a casting director and an actor," Abhishek said. "We need to break this habit. The problem is not influencers becoming actors. If you can act, come from anywhere and act. The problem is when you are deciding on casting a particular actor depending on their followers."
“You’ve seen the audition, shortlisted three people out of the lot… then you say all are good but the second one is really good. But the third one has more followers, that’s a serious problem. It will trap us. By the time the industry will come to realise that this is wrong, it will be too late,” he elaborated.
He added that while influencers may attract initial attention, their popularity alone is not enough to sustain a successful acting career. "One thumbnail will last how long? It might attract viewers to the first episode, but no one will invest nine hours into a web show solely because someone has followers," Abhishek said.
To explain his perspective, he added, “Shah Rukh Khan has about 45 million followers and there are many who have more, but is there isn’t a bigger star than him? So these comparisons based on followers are rubbish.” As a casting director, Abhishek explained the importance of casting actors based on their talent and merit, rather than their social media presence.
Coming to the professional front, Abhishek is currently seen in Stree 2 and Vedaa, both released on August 15.
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