Filmmaker Hansal Mehta spoke about the debut of new talent in the industry at the second edition of 'Cinevestar International Film Festival' on Friday. He said that betting on new talent is a small risk, which has many benefits attached to it, but in the name of safety, the industry has closed this path.

Actor Pratik Gandhi was also present on the occasion. Hansal Mehta and Pratik Gandhi discussed the importance of giving opportunities to new talent during a session on the relationship between directors and actors. Hansal said that in the 2000s, there were studios like UTV, which encouraged new artists. Nowadays, Applause Entertainment is also supporting and making new faces like Gandhi, Jahan Kapoor and Gagan Dev Riyal successful.

He said, "We are in an era where there is a lot of talent but they are not getting a chance. This pipeline has been closed in the name of security. This is proof that it can work. The big guys you give a chance to again and again, how many times have they faced failure? What is their success percentage? When they fail, they sink you. If you take a little risk and cast new actors, your loss will be less, but there are many benefits."

Pratik Gandhi appealed to producers and directors to be ready to work with new talent. He said, "Everywhere there is less space for new people and you are working only with a certain number of people. When you talk to people, they all say, 'Are there no good actors?' There are so many actors who are waiting for their turn. It is only directors and producers who can fill this gap."

Hansal Mehta jokes that all this casting was "lazy" because he had full faith in Pratik Gandhi's ability to give a great performance. He said, "It is a privilege that you get to work with an actor like Pratik. He plays that role completely, he contributes completely to the moment that you create on the set. He works without any ego. I always look for an actor who is free of ego, and I have found people like Rajkummar Rao, Pratik and many others in my career who are very lucky in that sense."

He also praised Shashi Kapoor's grandson Zahan Kapoor, who was critically acclaimed for his performance in Vikramaditya Motwane's 'Black Warrant'. Zahan made his debut with Hansraj's film 'Faraaz'. Hansraj said, "Jahan came to debut in this film. The big role in the film was of a villain, which was played by Aditya Rawal, but he surrendered his character to the prominence of that person. If he had tried to suppress that person, it would have looked strange. So I am happy that I found such people and I also got producers for this."