Veteran actor and voice artist Ninad Kamat, known for his extensive work across films, advertising, and dubbing, opened up about the emotional toll of constant auditions and rejections—even after spending over three decades in the entertainment industry. In a conversation with Digital Commentary, he revealed that the struggle for roles persists even with experience.
Sharing a recent incident, Kamat said he had auditioned just a week ago for a major film. Despite being called four times for the same character, he was eventually told he did not cut.
“Even after 31 years, you still have to audition,” he said. “Just a week ago, I gave an audition. And then came a heartbreaking rejection. It was a very big film—I can’t name it. I auditioned four times for one of the three main characters, travelling from Mahim to Andheri Versova each time. Three days ago, I was told, ‘Sorry, sir.’”
Kamat added that he had worked extensively on fine-tuning the character. “I picked a slight North Indian accent, worked on the humour the role required… all of that I kept practising at home. When they tell you three days before that it’s not happening—especially for a main character—it really hurts.”
Talking about the changing dynamics of casting, the actor said the landscape has shifted dramatically. “It’s a very different ball game today. Whether it’s social media, lobbying, or marketing… an actor’s follower count has started deciding things. I feel that’s what has killed the art.”
Kamat’s comments come at a time when several senior actors have been speaking up about how the audition culture often disregards years of experience.
Just a few months ago, veteran Marathi and television actor Usha Nadkarni recalled turning down an audition for Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy. She revealed that she was offended when a young assistant director asked her to test for a role without having checked her decades-long body of work.
Nadkarni had said in an interview with Pinkvilla that she refused the offer immediately: “I asked him how old he is—he said 25. I told him I’ve been working longer than his mother has been alive. I don’t do such pointless auditions. When he told me who the director is, I said, ‘She’s the daughter of a big man, isn’t she? Ask her to look up my name on the computer, then she’ll know the work I’ve done.’”
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