Mukesh Chhabra
Indian casting director
Mukesh Chhabra (born 27 May 1984) is an Indian casting director, filmmaker and actor. Some of his notable works include Bajrangi Bhaijan (2015), Bombay Velvet (2015), Dangal (2016), Dil Bechara (2020), Scam 1992 (2020), Laal Singh Chaddha (2022), Commando (2023), Jawan (2023), Dunki (2023), Chamak (2023), Kafas (2023), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026).
01Early life and education
He was born in Delhi in 1984. He studied acting at the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts. He completed a six-year acting and teaching stint with the ‘Theatre in Education’ Company (TIE) affiliated with the National School of Drama in New Delhi.
02Career
He started his career as an assistant casting director in 2006 with Rang De Basanti. In 2012, he played a cameo in Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 2, which also featured Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Manoj Bajpayee. In 2015, he was the casting director for Kabir Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijan, starring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan. In the same year, he did the casting for Bombay Velvet, featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar. In 2016, he did the casting for Nitesh Tiwari's Dangal, starring Aamir Khan, who also produced the film.
Mukesh made his directorial debut with Dil Bechara in 2020, featuring Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi. In 2020, he was the casting director for Scam 1992, directed by Hansal Mehta. In 2022, he did the casting for Advait Chandan's Laal Singh Chaddha, starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan. In 2023, he did the casting for Commando by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. In the same year, he played a role in Atlee's Jawan, featuring alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.
In 2023, Chhabra also did the casting for Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and Boman Irani. In the same year, he acted and did the casting for Rohit Jugraj's Chamak and Subhash Kapoor's Kafas, featuring Mona Singh and Sharman Joshi.
03Filmography
As casting director (select films)
- Rang De Basanti (2006), Assistant
- Rockstar (2011)
- Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015)
- Bombay Velvet (2015)
- Dangal (2016)
- Laila Majnu (2018)
- Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)
- Jawan (2023)
- Dunki (2023)
- Deva (2025)
- Dhurandhar (2025)
- Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026)
- Kartavya (2026)
- Main Vaapas Aaunga (2026)
- Governor (2026)
- The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest (2026)
- Ramayana Part 1 (2026)
Television
As film director
- Dil Bechara (2020; also casting director; remake of 2014 English film The Fault in Our Stars and based on 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars)
As actor
- Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2 (2012) as Nawab
- Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012) as Lovely
- Te3n (2016) as Taariq
- Jawan (2023) as Health Minister's secretary
- Chamak (2023-2025) as Dimpy
04Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Stardust Awards | Special Recognition to a Casting Director | Won |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mukesh Chhabra”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- The Casting Director Mukesh Chhabra at the Master Class on Characterisation and Casting for Cinema, during the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2017), in Panaji, Goa on November 25, 2017.jpg by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GODL-India
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