Published on: Sept 16, 2025 06:05 am IST
Monika Panwar, 31, plays the mother of Aaishvary Thackeray, 30, in Nishaanchi. Director Anurag Kashyap explains the logic behind the casting.
Actor Monika Panwar has been having a stellar 2025. After garnering praise for her performance in the horror series Khauf, the 31-year-old will now be seen on the big screen in Anurag Kashyap‘s Nishaanchi. Incidentally, Monika is playing the protagonist’s mother on screen despite being only one year older than the lead actor, Aaishvary Thackeray. In a candid chat with Hindustan Times, director Anurag Kashyap opens up about the casting choice.
Anurag on why Monika Panwar was cast in Nishaanchi
Anurag tells us that Monika was the last person to be cast in Nishaanchi. While the team was convinced of her acting chops, they were looking at older actors for the role. “The industry typecasts so much that even a 50-year-old actress does not want to play the mother of a 28- or 30-year-old,” the filmmaker says.
In the end, Anurag and the team decided to cast Monika in the role. The filmmaker is no stranger to casting a young female actor as the ‘hero’s mother’, having famously done so with Richa Chadha, who played Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s mother in Gangs of Wasseypur 2 when she was just 26. Anurag shares, “If you cast a young girl, then the consequence is that people put her in a box. This has happened with Richa (Chadha). I have seen her interview where she joked that I ruined her career by casting her as Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s mother. She is such a good actress, but the industry never gave her a chance for years to do good roles.”
‘Warned Monika about what happened with Richa’
In fact, the filmmaker said he used Richa’s case as a warning for Monika. He says, “I warned Monika on the first day. I told her this role goes from age 20 to 50. I had to sit down and tell her what happened with Richa. I gave her the option to say no, but she took it on. She has played this age range so beautifully.”
Nishaanchi stars Aaishvary Thackeray in a dual role, along with Monika and Vedika Pinto. The film also stars Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Kumud Mishra in pivotal roles. Produced by Amazon MGM Studios and JAR Pictures, in association with Flip Films, Nishaanchi will release in theatres on 19 September.
