I never plan anything; whenever I plan, things never work out: Neeraj
Almost all of his films have done well at the box office, and director Neeraj Pandey says that the key to his success may lie in choosing interesting subjects. The filmmaker, who has completed ten years in the film industry, is now ready with his next venture, Aiyaary.
“I never plan anything. Whenever I plan, things never work out. I wanted to make a love story as my first film, and it did not happen. It just refuses to happen. So I have stopped planning. I chase ideas that I am excited about. I won’t say I am satisfied or dissatisfied. I am chasing creative satisfaction,” says Neeraj Pandey.
Though his last film, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) was a huge hit, the filmmaker says that he often thinks that the movie could have been better. “I always think that the last film should have done better, irrespective of how it performed at the box office. There are still some shots that hurt. It’s your choice to dwell on it or move on. But I choose not to forget about it,” he says.
From A Wednesday (2008) to Special 26 (2013), Baby (2015) and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Neeraj’s films have been lauded by the audiences and the critics, who describe his cinema as an exciting blend of commercial and intellectual content.
“I don’t think any of the films were intellectual, but could be intelligent. I believe there is a lot of intelligent audiences who have gone and seen the film, and that is why the numbers have stacked up,” he says. For the 44-year-old
FILMMAKER NEERAJ PANDEY OFTEN REPEATS SEASONED ACTORS, ANUPAM KHER, MANOJ BAJPAYEE AND NASSERUDDIN SHAH IN HIS MOVIES. THEY ARE ALSO A PART OF AIYAARY
director, content has always been important. “I started my career with A Wednesday, which was not dominated by stars, but it had a bunch of great actors in it. I always believe content is important and the belief got reinforced by the success of the movie. And it led us to a path where we focus on content and let the actors make it special.”
He often repeats seasoned actors like Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpayee and Naseeruddin Shah in his movies, and he says that their presence takes the film to a different level. “For the kind of films we make, we need seriously gifted actors who can do justice (to the roles) and take the material to another level.”
The three actors are also part of Neeraj’s Aiyaary. The writing process for it began after he interacted with the armed forces personnel.
“I was also reading a lot about whistle-blowers, and there was one particular case that intrigued me. It was how something so out of the ordinary could result in the downfall of something so huge,” he added.