Mumbai, Jun 20 (IANS): Director Onir, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming film 'Pine Cone', will be launching five new faces. For this, he conducted auditions on Zoom across India and shortlisted his five lead actors from five different places - Sirsa, Anantnag, Gwalior, Delhi and Kolkata.

The director feels that it is imperative to have an influx of new talent in the industry for its collective growth.

Talking about the same, he said: "There are some really talented people across the country. As filmmakers, we need to put a little effort into going beyond the routine to find them. Since these actors will be completely raw, they give a very fresh perspective to your characters."

He further mentioned: "When I auditioned for 'Pine Cone' I met some excellent performers. Of course they had to go through workshops to prepare for the role. This way, you are not giving a chance to new talent but also making your film look different."

Recently, Onir dropped the first poster of 'Pine Cone', a love story. Debutant Vidur Sethi and Sahib Verma are in the leads. The film, co-written and directed by Onir, also had its world premiere at Kashish Film Festival during the Pride month.