What Bollywood Director Anurag Basu Looks in Actors

Bollywood: Anurag Basu with 'Best Director' Award

As a Top Bollywood Director (12 credits)

1.  Jagga Jasoos (filming);  Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Govinda in lead roles
2.  2015 Murdered to Moksha (Short)
3.  2015 Stories by Rabindranath Tagore (TV Series) 
4.  2012 Barfi! 
5.  2010/I Kites 
6.  2007 Life in a Metro 
7.  2006 Gangster 
8.  2004 Tumsa Nahin Dekha 
9.  2004 Murder 
10.  2003 Saaya 
11.  2003 Kucch To Hai (as Anurag Bose) 
12.  2002 Miit (TV Series) 

Why Top Director Anurag Basu Doesn't Believe in Auditions

An Interview 

'Making actors audition for roles doesn't serve any purpose'

Filmmaker Anurag Basu talks about his experience of directing movies and television serials in this extract from a new book by Rakesh Anand Bakshi

What is your process of casting an actor, how do you audition actors?

Anurag Basu: 
1. "Everybody has a unique personality. I seek actors who are naturally close to the characters that I need to cast. If my character has a humorous side and the actor has a similar trait, I will cast him or her easily... Once I find someone close to my character, I have never auditioned that actor.

2. What I usually do is, I have a lengthy talk with the person I am interested in casting; I meet that person two or three times to understand that person better. And during our general conversation I pick up on how he or she talks in real life, what he or she has gone through in life, because these things will never be mentioned on their CV, but will reflect in their personality if they open up to you.

3. You can only know these important but discreet things by generally speaking, to the actors you are interested in working with. I even go to the extent of making myself vulnerable; I share personal secrets with some of my actors to create a natural trust. Because the second step in the process of building an actor-director relationship, or even a writer-director relationship, is to make them trust you completely.

4. Only when you have the actor's trust, will they surrender their talent to your creative decisions, and hand them to you completely.

5. Then I can mold them and bring them even closer to the character I created in my mind...
I believe that making actors audition for roles does not serve any purpose. I cast Kangana Ranaut in Gangster in a similar manner, without any audition. I just chatted with her and soon I knew she could play the character in Gangster very well; and she did. It was her debut film and her performance was appreciated."
Source

Author's Interpretation

Understand your essence (profile), believe in whatever you are. Just be yourself and play a character as you and not copying or mimicking anybody else. You will be selected if your substance, soul, spirit, fundamental quality which makes your 'essence', a 'YOU' matches even to 60%.  A good director then will develop you to 100%