PNS | MUMBAI: The message lands in an actors' WhatsApp group late at night, between a dozen forwards. "Casting for a vertical series. Female lead, 22 to 28. Mumbai. ₹3.5K/day incl. commission."
A year ago, a lead role like this was hard for a newcomer to find. Now posts like it turn up almost every day.
They are for microdramas: short drama series made to be watched on a phone held upright, on apps such as Kuku TV, Story TV, QuickTV and ZEE5's Bullet. About 110 million people in India now watch them, according to industry estimates. The apps have been downloaded about 450 million times, according to venture fund Lumikai. Viewers watch 1.2 billion episodes a day, according to a study by ShareChat and Moj with Kantar.
Every one of those episodes needs actors and for people trying to get their first break, that is good news.
TakeOne, a WhatsApp-based casting platform, looked at nearly 2,000 casting calls (posts inviting actors to audition) from its exclusive network of casting directors. Microdramas were the fastest-growing kind of acting work among them.
They are also open to new faces. Across 155 microdrama roles, 147 did not ask for any acting experience. Twenty-eight of them were lead roles.
"Microdramas are where a lot of new actors are getting their first screen credit," said Shrish Dwivedi of TakeOne. "The shoots are quick, new shows keep coming, and casting teams are happy to try fresh faces, even for leads. For someone starting out, that's a real break."
"I'd been sending my photos to every group for months," said Palash, an actor who landed a microdrama role through TakeOne. "Then a role came to me that actually fit. That was my first real show."
Microdramas usually pay between ₹3,500 and ₹6,000 for a day of shooting, about the same as TV. Ads still pay the most. A typical ad role paid ₹12,000 a day, and the best paid up to ₹60,000. Ads were also the most common kind of casting call, nearly half of all of them.
Source: TakeOne, based on casting calls that mentioned pay, September to October 2026.
One thing to watch for is the agent's cut. Many casting calls say "including commission" or "incl. cut". That means the agent's share, usually 20% and sometimes 25%, comes out of the amount shown. So "₹15,000 a day including 20%" puts ₹12,000 in the actor's hand.
For a newcomer, the hardest part is finding the right roles in the first place.
Casting calls are posted on Instagram, under hashtags such as #castingcall, and passed around WhatsApp groups that can have hundreds of members. Four out of five don't say what they pay. The same role is often forwarded again and again by different groups, so it is hard to tell what is new. Many are still being shared after the audition date has gone. And some are fake, using the names of real production houses. Balaji Telefilms put out a public warning this year after fake accounts used its name.
A few simple habits help. Look for the casting director's own page instead of trusting a forwarded screenshot. Check the audition date. Ask if the pay includes the agent's cut. And don't share Aadhaar, PAN or bank details before you are selected.
"Actors spend hours every day scrolling through groups and sending the same photos again and again," said Dwivedi. "Most of what they see isn't even right for them."
TakeOne puts the day's best-paid casting calls and the ones from big brands on one page, with the pay shown, at takeonehq.com/castings/top.
Actors who sign up get roles sent straight to their WhatsApp from TakeOne's network of casting directors.
Each one is checked first. The same role is sent only once, old auditions and fake posts are left out, and actors only see roles that suit their age, look, language and city.
They can apply by replying in the chat, and TakeOne can even apply to the best matches for them.
Microdramas are only going to grow, and so will the number of first breaks they offer. The actors who hear about the roles first will be the ones who land them.
New actors can sign up by messaging TakeOne on WhatsApp at wa.me/16067061680.
