Prefer writing to direction, says Neeraj Pandey
Neeraj Pandey talks about why he picked Rana and his desire to write more novels
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-12-07 00:14 GMT
Mumbai: His last movie Total Siyapaa did not do well, but Neeraj Pandey is positive about his next, Baby. In Hyderabad to work with M.M. Kreem for the film’s sound production, Neeraj talks to us about his upcoming movie and why he likes writing more than directing.
The producer-director reveals that it is only professional commitments that get him to Hyderabad. “I’ve been coming to the city for the past three years. It must be my 10th visit and I am here to complete the song production work with M.M. Kreem, with whom I have worked in Special 26 previously,” he says adding, “Hyderabad has a nice old world charm to it…wish I had more time in hand to explore the city. There is so much to see here.”
Neeraj reveals that Baby is a political thriller; the plot revolves around a covert black-ops team where Akshay Kumar plays an under-cover intelligence operative. This is Neeraj’s second movie with Akshay, and he adds that actors like him are a director’s delight and he doesn’t throw any starry tantrums.
“Akshay is an actor who follows your instructions and does everything that the script demands. Since we had the experience of working together in our previous film, we could understand each other’s work. The same is with Anupam Kher, Baby is my third movie with him,” he says adding, “The reason why we keep working together is because of the joy we get while working with someone who has an equal passion for cinema.”
About picking two south stars, Rana and Taapsee, Neeraj says, “I’ve seen Rana’s work before, and he fit the bill for that particular character. I’ve only seen Taapsee’s work in Bollywood, and I wanted a relatively new and fresh face for the movie. We called her for a screen-test and that’s how she was finalised.”
Neeraj, who had penned a novel, Ghalib Danger, in 2013, says that he enjoys writing more than directing. “Writing is much more fun. Directing is a collaborative effort where you would need around 150 people, where the script is already ready and you just have to execute and monitor it.
Whereas in writing there is no holding back, there is no distraction and one is on one’s own. I’d love to pen more novels, but I am tied up with a couple of things now,” he says. Neeraj, however, refused to comment on his upcoming movie, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, which stars Sushant Singh Rajput.