“We’re done with remakes”
Writer, director and producer Neeraj Pandey talks about his crime drama Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, and other upcoming projects
“The world has become smaller and people are used to consuming content in its original language”
Q. What about IPS officer Amit Lodha’s book Bihar Diaries caught your attention?
I met Amit in 2017, much before he had written the book. What intrigued me was that he graduated from IIT Delhi, took the civil services exam and became an IPS officer in the Bihar cadre. Just that journey, for me, was fascinating. And then, the more stories he shared from his days in service, the more I was convinced that he should write a book. To assure him that I am still interested in adapting his story for the screen, I told him to consider that his book’s rights were sold from Day 0.
Initially, I thought we’d make a film, but we later decided that a series was a better medium because it’s a big story. So now, we have seven episodes in this season and it eventually becomes part of a larger franchise where every season is set in a different city or state.
Q. It’s been a while since you’ve directed a feature.
I just got caught up with digital storytelling and other commitments. I am directing a film that goes on the floors towards the end of this month. I spent a lot of time writing this script. It’s not Chanakya, which is on hold right now, but this film also stars Ajay [Devgn].
Q. Friday Filmworks, your production company, co-produced the Hindi remake of the Tamil film Vikram Vedha (2022) and Operation Romeo (2022), a remake of the Malayalam film Ishq (2019). Before the pandemic, remakes of South Indian films were both fashionable and profitable. Is their time over?
Pretty much. We still have the rights to a few films from around the world, but somewhere around 2020, we took a conscious call to stop buying remake rights. The world has become smaller and people are used to consuming content in its original language. Of course, there will be exceptions where a remake does well. But otherwise, I think we are done.
Q. You write, direct and produce. Is there one job you prefer more?
There is no part of my job that I don’t enjoy. Writing, of course, is more individualistic and fulfilling because I write alone. Both direction and production, though, require a lot of collaboration, which isn’t my strongest suit. I feel lucky to be able to switch between these jobs. When I am tired of one, I can do something else, feel rejuvenated and come back to it. ■