Dawn Images

Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, who made headlines over not casting Deepika Padukone in his project Beyond The Clouds, has straightened it for everyone, one more time.

Deepika had auditioned for Beyond The Clouds, which opened the ongoing 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. But the director decided to go with someone who didn't carry star-wattage like Deepika's, if any at all. His decision to cast a lesser-known actress (Malavika Mohanan) over an established actor like Deepika had created a stir in the Indian media, which he explained yet again on the sidelines of IFFI.

"I usually choose heroes from among people," he said, adding that he like to work with newcomers.

"This doesn’t mean that I am not interested in professional actors. Since I was shooting in Mumbai, it became difficult to organise the sets. When we were auditioning Deepika Padukone, we had a tough time managing the crowds."

Beyond The Clouds features debutante actor Ishaan Khatter, Shahid Kapoor's younger brother. Khatter and Mohanan, who is a Malayalam actor, play siblings living in a Mumbai slum in the film. Their bond is put to a test after Tara (Mohanan) is arrested for attempted murder.

For Majidi, it was important to keep the film as authentic and 'real' as possible.

"As you must have seen in my films, even my locations have character, and I work on them,” Majidi said. “Even for the lighting of the film, I wanted to give a real feeling,” which is why the director tried to engage as many locals in the project as possible.

There is no dearth of talent in India but young filmmakers do not get a chance to showcase their brilliance, Majidi said.

"There is a shadow of the industry on young filmmakers, and they may find it difficult to make films,” he said.

"We should create space for brilliant young talent, otherwise it will be a dead end."

Beyond the Clouds is slated for release in India sometime in February 2018.