'Paatal Lok' casting directors on roping in trans actor Mairembam: 'It’s the biggest win'

Paatal Lok casting directors Abhishek Bannerjee and Anmol Ahuja recently opened up to an entertainment portal about their experience of roping in transgender actor Mairembam Ronaldo Singh for the popular web series. For the ones who are unaware, Mairembam plays the role of Cheeni, a transgender character in the show. Abhishek Bannerjee revealed that casting Cheeni, the trans woman character, was the biggest challenge but also exclaimed that it was the 'biggest win' for the team as a casting company. 

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Paatal Lok casting directors on roping in Cheeni

The Paatal Lok casting director exclaimed that they needed a Manipuri trans person for a part in the show. Such things could be difficult for casting directors but actor Nikita Grover eased the struggle of the team, he added. Furthermore, in the same interaction, Abhishek said that it was actually Nikita, who plays the role of lady constable in charge of frisking Cheeni in Paatal Lok, was behind Mairembam's casting. 

Abhishek Bannerjee further told the entertainment portal that Nikita went all the way to Manipur and then found out their 'Cheeni' from a local theatre group out there. Moreover, Banerjee revealed that Mairembam was under pressure at home so they went and convinced her family too. Later on, when Mairembam came down to Mumbai for shooting, the team made her feel comfortable as much as possible and she did a brilliant job with the web series, he added. 

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About Paatal Lok

Talking about the show, Paatal Lok went live on Amazon Prime on May 5, 2020. The teaser of the series was unveiled in April 2020, which very much created a stir amongst the audience. Reportedly, the core ideas behind the show have been loosely adapted from a book, The Story of My Assassins written by Tarun Tejpal. The book revolves around the writer's life and how he runs background checks of the murderers. Paatal Lok cast includes Jaideep Ahlawat, Neeraj Kabi, Gul Panag, Abhishek Banerjee, and Neeraj Kabi among many others. 

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