THE REAL MCCOY
Neeraj Pandey likes his reel world close to reality. His next movie is based on real-life hero, M.S. Dhoni
Neeraj Pandey’s refurbished office in Lokhandwala in Mumbai can look strangely deceptive to those who follow his movies. The bookshelf boasts of action figurines of Iron Man, AntMan and Deadpool, graphic novels by Craig Thompson and Osamu Tezuka’s eight-volume manga series on Buddha, among other things. It’s in stark contrast to his film aesthetic. “The stories that excite me are set in the world that I belong to,” he says. “I get driven by something that’s about everyday, common people.”
In his nine-year-long film career, Pandey has directed three films for his production house, Friday Filmworks. In 2008, there was A Wednesday, for which he wrote the famous outburst, articulated by Naseeruddin Shah, expressing the frustrations of the common man with government apathy and state of affairs. He made audiences root for the good bad guys in the dark comedy Special 26 (2013), inspired by the true story of a group of thieves who pull off an audacious jewellery heist. Then there was Baby, a globe-trotting action thriller that follows Indian spies as they nab one of India’s most wanted criminals.
Pandey, 42, is unusually self-effacing. It was on Akshay Kumar’s insistence that the actor’s latest hit, Rustom, directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, was called a Neeraj Pandey film. “That was Akshay Kumar’s way of ensuring I was the watchman of the film,” says Pandey, “to mentor the film and take responsibility for it.” Despite its exaggerated storytelling technique and tacky production, it collected over Rs 100 crore. Pandey’s next is a biopic on one of India’s most celebrated cricketers, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (played by Sushant Singh Rajput), to be released on September 30.
Before you pigeonhole Pandey as a reality specialist, know that his first script was a love story that never saw the light of day. After his first feature became a sleeper hit, he took five years to make the next one. “Some of them thought I had gone berserk and become too adamant,” he says. He chooses not to partner with writers or throw success parties. When the romantic comedy Total Siyappa (2014), which he wrote and produced, failed, he brought key members of the film together for a dinner on the day of the release. “I have always learned
more from failures,” he says.
In a profession where being seen and heard is of as much significance as one’s work, he is known to be a reticent man. At his film’s trailer launches, he speaks the least. “Everything has been cut down— the invites to parties, and the nagging from friends and family too,” he says. “I love to keep to myself, especially the writer in me.”
Born and brought up by Bihari parents in Kolkata, Pandey grew up watching films and devouring books at the Oxford lending library in Park Street, where his father worked as an employee at Bosch. But Pandey’s love of books doesn’t mean he was academically inclined. He flunked the ninth standard. He moved to Delhi to pursue a degree in Literature (Honours) from Sri Aurobindo College. He was unable to get into the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. After seven years in Delhi, where he dabbled in television, he headed to Mumbai in 2000 and got a job the very first day—to direct an episode of Zee TV’s Rishtey series. It was followed by a year-and-a-half of living on savings. With nobody willing to bank on A Wednesday, which went on to win the National Award, Pandey and his producer Shital Bhatia formed Friday Filmworks.
Pandey now doesn’t have to worry as much about raising funds. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment partnered with Friday Filmworks to establish Plan C Studios. But by no means does he feel secure. “It inherently leads to complacency and then you are on your way to making a dud,” he says. “We feel more accountable for the faith that has been shown (by our investors and the audience).”
Discipline and honesty are traits that he seeks from his collaborators. His third project with Akshay Kumar, Crack, releases in August 2017. “He is an extremely good listener, which is a rare quality these days,” says Pandey. “There is no ‘You know what I was thinking’ on the sets. That is a dangerous zone to be in on set.” That rules out a lot of actors ever working with him. “Of course, I’m open to opinion,’’ he clarifies. “During readings and conversations, I welcome questions. We do improvise on set. But you are not supposed to find your motivation on the set. That bridge should have been crossed much earlier.”
Pandey’s fourth feature, in the works for two-and-a-half years, is about a sportsman who is still active. Before taking on the project, Pandey was clear with the man himself as well as the studio that the feature wouldn’t be a hagiographical account of the cricketer. “I see no halo around his head,” says Pandey. “My take is not to put him on a pedestal, but to get a peek into his mind and how he reacts in certain situations.” The film, he says, traces Dhoni’s life from his birth to India’s victory in the 2011 World Cup. “Dhoni is never going out of limelight,” he says. With the way Pandey’s career is going, he can’t escape the limelight either.
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We improvise on set but you (actors) can’t find your motivation on the set. That bridge should be crossed much earlier