Samit Kakkad: “Being authentic in the casting has been a critical factor in Dharavi Bank’s success!”

Propelling the intense story of MX Original Series Dharavi Bank to new heights is its ensemble cast of stellar actors.The 10-episode series follows the thrilling chase of a restless cop essayed by Vivek Anand Oberoi and the Tamilian don, Thalaivan played by Suniel Shetty. Making his digital debut with Dharavi Bank, Suniel Shett’s character Thalaivan has struck a chord with the audiences for his impeccable accent, look and bringing alive the aesthetics of the region. Shanthi Priya also returned to the screen with this show as Thalaivan’s sister along with Bhavvna Rao who made her digital debut as Thalaivan’s daughter and Vamsi Krishna as the brain of the family as Thalaivan’s eldest son. This cast makes the show more authentic in depicting the South Indian family based in Dharavi.

Speaking about the casting process of the show, director Samit Kakkad said, “The script demanded realness in everything that was required in creating the series. Being authentic in the casting has been a crucial factor in Dharavi Bank’s success. It is actually quite ironic that the actors we got to play these parts, including Anna, hail from the South and this was designed keeping in mind the intrinsic nuances of the region that they could bring alive. I am so grateful it happened the way it did because in addition to being phenomenal performers – they really enhanced and improvised on dialogues, the language, dialect, certain aspects of the culture that only they could get right since they’re from the South.”

Shanthi Priya added, “Having spent most of my life in the Southern parts of India, I have seen how we have a strong sense of pride in our culture and that was something I wanted to translate on screen.The four of us could relate to that familial feeling and that reflected on our faces when you see the show. It truly felt as if they were my family.”

Produced by Zee Studios, the series also features a stellar cast comprising of Sonali Kulkarni, Luke Kenny, Freddy Daruwala, Santosh Juvekar, Nagesh Bhosle, Siddharth Menon, Hitesh Bhojraj, Samikssha Batnagar, Rohit Pathak, Jaywant Wadkar, Chinmay Mandlekar, Shruti Srivastava, Sandhya Shetty and Pavitra Sarkar in key roles.