Chosen to Play Rangga in 'RANGGA & CINTA', El Sarira Reveals the Casting Process

In a recent A Round The Table session, El Sarira admitted that he was initially contacted by a talent manager. 

"At that time, I was reached out to by a talent manager who DM'd me, asking if I was interested in auditioning and to send a video online first, singing 'Suara Hati Suara Kekasih' and 'Tentang Seseorang,'" he revealed. 

"Then the following week I was asked to go to Jakarta for an in-person audition because, at that time, I was just an ordinary student in Makassar, so I was told to fly to Jakarta for the audition," El continued.

Interestingly, El and Riri Riza both come from Makassar. However, Riri clearly stated that he did not know El beforehand. 

Apparently, the talent manager had seen the viral video of El Sarira. In the video, El appears performing with a famous Indonesian singer. 

"On social media, it was because the talent manager met me during one of the concerts while I was singing, and suddenly the video went viral," said El.

"The one singing is not him. So actually, there was a famous singer performing in Makassar, attracting one of the audience to sing. He (El Sarira) is that audience," added Mira Lesmana. 

On that occasion, Mira mentioned how the casting process for El was not short. It wasn't just her and Riri Riza who auditioned but also Nicholas Saputra and Anto Hoed.

"Initially, it was definitely me, Riri, and Nicholas Saputra. So usually we shortlist again from our shortlist, and we present Melly and Anto because they need to hear their voices," added Mira.

"So if that's okay, we still have to ensure with the choreographer about the movements. So it's really not that simple; they really have to have multilayered skills," she concluded.