The Man behind Mumbai Diaries 26/11
'It was only after D-Day that people believed that I had actually directed Kal Ho Naa Ho.'
In a career spanning 25 years, Nikkhil
Advani has moved from romances like Kal
Ho Naa Ho and Salaam-e-Ishq to gritty
dramas inspired by real life: Airlift and Batla
House. Nikkhil is all set to unveil a medical
drama series this week set against the backdrop
of the 26/11 terror attacks, Mumbai Diaries
26/11.
"We had initially titled the series Bombay
Hospital. But when the Taj Mahal Hotel, the
cops, the media, the city of Mumbai and the
resilience of its people entered the picture, the
show became much bigger and we decided to
call it Mumbai Diaries 26/11," Nikkhil Advani
tells Contributor
D-Day, 2013
'I had to get Anurag Kashyap to convince Irrfan to even listen to the script'
D-Day was so out of the loop for me that no one
thought I could pull it off.
I had to get Anurag Kashyap to convince Irrfan
(Khan) to even listen to the script. He agreed
only after he was told that I'd trained under
Sudhir Mishra and eventually agreed to play
undercover R&AW agent Wali Khan.
I had approached Rishi Kapoor for Ashwini Rao,
the head of R&AW.
He told me that after Patiala House, I should
offer something with more gravitas.
He showed me some pictures from Agneepath in
which he was playing the baddie, Rauf Lala, a
don who runs a meat business and
simultaneously, deals in drugs and prostitution.
That set me thinking, why don't I go against type
and cast him as Goldman, a character modelled
on Dawood Ibrahim?
He laughed when I told him this.
We did a look test, and he said yes.
I'd really prepped up for the shoot.
On the first day, I wanted to take 50 shots and I
had them planned from every angle.
Irrfan pulled me back, pointing out that with a
film like this, we should go with the flow.
His words stayed with me.
'After Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan passed away within 24 hours, more people watched it' Today, I work really hard on my research and
script, but when I go to shoot, I know what I
want to do but I also let my actors tell me what
they want.
That way, it's more organic and I'm more
relaxed.
Those days, I didn't have Dolby or steadicam.
We were shooting with a hand-held camera.
I'd seen a two-par documentary, Secret Pakistan,
and I adopted their style of filming which was
real, grungy and gritty.
We did not have a budget for promotions so I
decided to organise screenings for the film
fraternity.
A special moment was when Amitabh Bachchan
saw it and wrote a long post praising D-Day on
social media. Soon, other actors were calling to
ask if they could come for a screening and their
reactions were heartening.
The film did not do well when it opened, but
over the last eight years, it has been building a
reputation.
After Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan passed away
within 24 hours, more people watched it.
Today, it's become almost iconic.
For me, it was only after D-Day that people
believed that I had actually directed Kal Ho Naa
Ho.
Airlift, 2016
'When Raja narrated the script to Irrfan, he said it needed a bigger star'
When Raja (writer-director Raja Krishna
Menon) narrated the script to Irrfan (Khan), he
said it needed a bigger star.
'You won't get the budget you need if you make
the film with me,' Irrfan pointed out
magnanimously.
I had worked with Akshay (Kumar) in Chandni
Chowk to China and Patiala House.
While chatting, I told him about Airlift and he was
instantly excited.
When I pointed out it was not in his space, he argued
that he'd done Baby and was looking to experiment.
So I got Raja and Akshay together and the result is an
amazing film based on the real-life evacuation of
170,000 Indians from Kuwait during the first Gulf
War.
The heroes of Airlift are also its writers: Ritesh Shah,
Suresh Nair, Rahul Nangia and Raja, along with my
team of producers which includes my sister, Monisha
Advani, and her business partner, Madhu Bhojwani.
I'd pulled Monisha and Madhu into D-Day because
no studio would back it.
They backed me on Airlift too and together, we have
made Emmay Entertainment a credible production
house today.
P.O.W.-- Bandi Yuddh Ke, 2016-2017
'I wasn't interested in an Indianised Homeland' Uday Shankar and Saugata Mukherjee of Star TV
came television which Homeland. to had me drama been after adapted series, watching Hatufim as D-Day the American (Prisoners with the series, Israeli of War),
I thought wasn't Hatufim interested could in an work Indianised with the Homeland, Israel-Palestine but I
conflict transmuting into the India-Pakistan conflict
and two POWs, missing after the 1999 Kargil War,
breaking out of a Pakistan jail to return home after 17
years.
We had initially planned it as a two-season series of
13 episodes each.
In retrospect, I feel if we had stuck to that plan and
not extended it over 100-plus episodes, it might have
worked better.
Still, because of the reach of television, a lot of
people saw P.O.W. even in the 10 pm slot. And that
has helped me with Mumbai Diaries 26/11 today. Batla House, 2018
'John's problem is that he is so good-looking' Even though we had done Salaam-e-Ishq earlier,
Johh (Abraham) and I really bonded during
Satyameva Jayate.
As the producer, I was on the set all the time and we
chatted about our respective production houses and
our desire to tell different stories.
Our love for football cemented the bond. He has his
own football team, NorthEast United, and I'm an
ardent Batla Akshay John against House Man Kumar City was type. and fan. a four-year-old Arjun Rampal, dream I decided and after to cast
John's problem is that he is so good-looking that he
has had to live with the model tag for too long.
I played him quiet, underplayed his looks, and when
the real Sanjeev Kumar Yadav on whom his DCP
was based, saw the film, he was moved to tears.
He told us that we had gone beyond the story of the
2008 encounter and its aftermath, beyond the court
judgment, and turned it into a human story. Mumbai Diaries 26/11, 2021
'Every season will deal with a particular disaster situation the city is reeling under'
Vijay Subramaniam and Aparna Purohit of Amazon
Prime Video came to me after seeing P.O.W.
I didn't want to get into the espionage space again, so
we decided on a medical drama that unfolds on
26/11, the day of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
We had initially titled the series Bombay Hospital.
But when the Taj Mahal Hotel, the cops, the media,
the city of Mumbai and the resilience of its people
entered the picture, the show became much bigger
and we decided to call it Mumbai Diaries 26/11.
Every season will deal with a particular disaster
situation the city is reeling under.
The eight episodes will play out over 24 hours with
the characters we have introduced in Season 1
moving forward to deal with the next crisis.
Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway (Under production) 'It's a story of patriotism without being jingoistic' The film is inspired by a 2011 case of a gutsy Indian
woman her young who children fights the after system the Norway to get back Child custody Welfare of
Service deems her an unfit mother and takes them
away.
The minute I read the script its director Ashima
Chibber had sent me, I knew I had to make this film.
It's a story of patriotism without being jingoistic.
It underlines the fact that the country you are born in
is your only country and will stand up for you.
We've got an unbelievable actress in Rani Mukerji.
Our biggest challenge so far was when to roll
because of the pandemic. It was initially scheduled
for May, then shifted to June.
It finally took off on August 11 in Estonia.
So far, it's been smooth sailing.