Overview
- The critique surfaced on Wednesday when News18 published interviews in which Arshad Warsi called the requirement 'the stupidest thing ever' and Pratik Gandhi said he lost early roles for not looking 'rich enough'.
- Pratik Gandhi described auditions where casting notices explicitly asked only 'rich-looking' actors to apply and said those messages still circulate among aspiring performers.
- Director Tigmanshu Dhulia argued that casting teams often equate wealth with fair skin and tall stature, saying that preference narrows the pool of actors hired for wealthy onscreen characters.
- Warsi and Gandhi raised the point as part of publicity around their Tigmanshu Dhulia film Ghamasaan, which is streaming on Zee5, and while discussing their separate upcoming projects.
- The comments revive a long-running industry issue that beauty norms shape casting for men as well as women and could prompt closer scrutiny of casting notices and agent practices that act as gatekeepers.