'The Hunt...': Nagesh Kukunoor on casting actors resembling real-life figures
06 Jul 2025

Acclaimed filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor recently opened up about his new series The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case.

In an interview with OTTplay, he discussed the casting of actors who closely resembled real-life figures.

The show was released on Friday and is backed by Applause Entertainment.

The project was in motion before the book was published
Story's origin

The series is based on Anirudhya Mitra's 2022 book 90 Days, which delves into the CBI probe into former prime minister Gandhi's assassination.

Kukunoor revealed that the project was in motion before the book was even published.

He said, "Anirudhya had already approached Sameer Nair at Applause, and he had pitched this whole thing."

"Sameer had several meetings with Anirudhya...and convinced me."

Importance of physical resemblance when casting key figures
Casting decisions

Kukunoor stressed the importance of physical resemblance when casting key figures like Karthikeyan and Amit Verma.

He said, "One is that our actors needed to look like the characters. So that was very—my hands were tied to a certain point."

"You know, Jaideep Ahlawat, who I love very much, could not play Karthikeyan. It's as simple as that."

Casting Amit Sial as Karthikeyan
Casting choices

Kukunoor felt that casting Amit Sial as Karthikeyan, the lead investigator, was a good decision.

He said, "Amit Sial comes up; he looks very close to Karthikeyan."

"And of course, the people who know Karthikeyan, and I'm sure Mr. Karthikeyan himself will say, 'Oh, he doesn't look like me.' But you know, visually, as close as you can to the real person."

How Sahil Vaid landed the role of Verma
Serendipitous casting

Kukunoor's decision to cast Sahil Vaid as Verma (SP, CBI) was almost by chance.

He recalled, "It so happened that Sahil had put on a bunch of weight for another movie that he did."

"And so when he came to audition for me, even the girth matched it. And then I read with Sahil, and he tells me he's from Tamil Nadu, and he's from Salem."

Where to watch 'Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination...'?
Authenticity

Kukunoor emphasized, "The characters we had to take liberties with, but at least the big ones were kind of the ones on whom the show was hanging on."

"I tried to be as authentic as possible. I was not concerned about the fact that 'Oh, you have to get that' as long as visually they landed in the right space."

The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case is available to stream now on Sony LIV.