Seher Latif

Seher Latif (died 7 June 2021) or Seher Aly Latif was an Indian producer and casting director, who worked on a number of domestic and international film projects based in India. Her credits as a casting director including award-winning films such as The Lunchbox, Shakuntala Devi, and the Indian casting for Zero Dark Thirty, Eat Pray Love, and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, as well as television shows such as Sense8, and McMafia. She also produced the Indian romantic television series, Bhaag Beanie Bhaag, starring Swara Bhasker. In 2016, Elle Magazine listed her as one of the 'most powerful young Indian women in Bollywood'.

Career

[edit]

Latif worked primarily as a casting director, often collaborating with international film and television projects to cast Indian actors for scenes filmed in India. Variety described her as " one of the most sought-after casting directors for international projects set in India or with a significant India component."[1] She worked on a number of well-received international projects that were filmed partly in India, including Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, John Madden'sThe Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Ryan Murphy's Eat Pray Love, and The Hundred-Foot Journey.[1] In addition to her work in film, she also did casting for a number of television series that were filmed in or relating to India, including Sense8, McMafia, and The Good Karma Hospital.[2][3] In 2013, along with Mark Bennett and Richard Hicks, she was nominated for an award for Big Budget/Feature Casting for her work on Zero Dark Thirty, by the Casting Society of America.[4]

In India, Latif was the casting director for The Lunchbox, which won several domestic and international awards. More recently, she worked as a producer for Shakuntala Devi, a biographical film about the Indian mathematician Shakuntala Devi, starring Vidya Balan, as well as on Bhaag Beanie Bhaag, an Indian romantic television series for Netflix that starred Swara Bhasker.[5] Bhaag Beanie Bhaag was a production of Mutant Studios, a production studio set up by Latif and Shivani Saran in 2016. They also produced a sports drama, GOLD, starring Akshay Kumar, in 2018.[1] Other recent work included casting on a biopic of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, titled The Man Who Knew Infinity and starring Dev Patel, a period film, Viceroy's House, directed by Gurinder Chadha, and a horor-drama, Durgamati, starring Bhumi Pednekar.[6] In 2016, Elle Magazine listed her as one of the 'most powerful young Indian women in Bollywood'.[7]

Filmography

[edit]

Latif's filmography included credits for casting and production.[8]

Casting

[edit]
Project Role Year
Television
Outsourced Additional casting 2006
Bollywood Hero Casting (India - 3 episodes) 2009
The Good Karma Hospital Casting (6 episodes) 2017
Sense8 Casting (20 episodes) 2015-2017
McMafia Casting (5 episodes) 2018
Bhaag Beanie Bhaag Casting director (6 episodes) 2020
Film
Eat Pray Love Casting (India) 2010
Save Your Legs! Casting (India) 2012
Zero Dark Thirty Casting (India) 2012
Monsoon Shootout Original casting 2013
The Unseen Sequence Casting director 2013
The Lunchbox Casting director 2013
The Hundred Foot Journey Casting (India) 2014
Million Dollar Arm Casting director 2014
Tigers Casting director 2014
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Casting (India) 2015
Furious 7 Casting (India) 2015
The Man Who Knew Infinity Casting director 2015
Viceroy's House Casting director 2017
Bioscopewala Casting director 2017
Noblemen Casting director 2018
Line of Descent Casting director 2019
Maska Casting director 2020
Durgamati: The Myth Casting director 2020
Shakuntala Devi Casting director 2020

Production

[edit]
Project Role Year
Television
Messy Co-Producer 2020
Untitled Executive Producer (9 episodes) 2020
Bhaag Beanie Bhaag Executive Producer (6 episodes) 2020
Film
Taala Aur Chabi Producer 2010
Masterchef Producer 2014
GOLD Executive Producer 2018
Noblemen Executive Producer 2018
Maska Producer 2020
Shakuntala Devi Producer 2020

Personal life

[edit]

Her alma mater was Mater Dei School, New Delhi. Latif died at the age of 39 in Mumbai on 7 June 2021.[1][5] The film Monkey Man, which she cast, is dedicated to her.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Ramachandran, Naman (7 June 2021). "'The Lunchbox' Casting Director Seher Aly Latif Dies in Mumbai". Variety. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  2. ^ "The Lunchbox casting director Seher Aly Latif dies of cardiac arrest in Mumbai". India Today. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  3. ^ "The Lunchbox casting director Seher Aly Latif dies, Nimrat Kaur, Richa Chadha mourn her loss". Hindustan Times. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Casting Society Unveils Artios Nominees". Deadline. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Casting director-producer Seher Aly Latif passes away". The Indian Express. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Producer Seher Aly Latif, known for 'The Lunchbox' & 'Durgamati', passes away due to cardiac arrest". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Meet the most powerful young women in Bollywood". Elle India. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Seher Latif". IMDb. Retrieved 30 November 2021. [unreliable source?]
  9. ^ "Sikandar Kher: Seher Latif looked out for me". Mid-day. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2024.