With Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, director Neeraj Pandey returns to the genre of a heist drama/thriller after over a decade. We have all seen it very well in Akshay Kumar-starrer Special 26 which was based on the 1987 Opera House heist. In his latest, after a high-profile diamond heist goes unsolved, a determined cop’s fixation on his prime suspect turns into an all-consuming obsession. This 2008 diamond heist revolves around three suspects - Kamini Singh played by Tamannaah Bhatia, Sikandar Sharma portrayed by Avinash Tiwary and Jimmy Shergill plays investigating officer Jaswinder Singh who witnesses the blurring lines between guilt and innocence.
Tamannah Bhatia: My character, Kamini, is a complete transformation for me, a role that allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. She’s a blend of vulnerability and strength, and as the narrative unfolds, so does her journey. It was an incredible opportunity to explore new dimensions in my craft. For me, it's a very fresh outing from whatever work I've done so far. I'm pretty much not wearing anything on my face in the film. And I feel I have never gone this bare for a role because I felt on the digital medium, I want people to see people's faces. I want them to be able to see the character. I don't want them to feel like it has any baggage of vanity. I have always played different kinds of characters and I mostly did deglamorized roles in South films and didn’t get an opportunity to do that in Hindi films and when Neeraj Sir called me, my intuition said that I must do this film.
Jimmy Shergill: I have the task of probing diamond heists in this film ...Neeraj and I have earlier collaborated in Special 26 and A Wednesday but it is not that I sign Neeraj’s film without giving it a thought. We haven’t worked together for a long time but we have stayed in touch. Last year, when he was doing this film Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha with Ajay Devgn, he wanted me to do a cameo in that film. That was done and he told me that he has written Sikandar Ka Muqaddar for Netflix. He wanted me to read it. It didn’t have the climax at that time because it was a work in progress. I decided to do it and started growing a beard for my role as investigating officer Jaswinder Singh. It is my character’s intuition that has been played upon. Because it is a Neeraj Pandey film and spans over a period of 15 years there is beauty in the screenplay which keeps you on the edge wondering what will happen next.
Avinash Tiwary: What really stands out in the film is the resilience of both the characters—the one who is obsessed and the one who is the obsession. It took 15 years for this man to chase this obsession of his. Similarly, it almost took me 15 years to get my first opportunity as an actor in a film. I can relate to those 15 years of resilience to stay in the game. That is something I can connect with and understand. Also, it is a thriller with a drama quotient and that is what I found different from what we have seen so far. It actually gets into the real-life stories of these people along with the thrill which is why we appreciate Neeraj Sir’s understanding of the milieu, his stories are more real. This story has very immersive lives of the characters and constantly keeps you on your toes with the drama that unfolds. This film doesn’t have only plot twists, you get invested into the lives of these characters.
On co-stars:
Tamannaah Bhatia: What I loved is that we have very clear-cut characters to play and I was just happy to collaborate with both of them (Tiwary and Shergill) because you are feeding off each other when it comes to performances. Whatever screen space I had with Jimmy ..he is magnetic on screen. I love watching how he can intimidate without doing much. Also, it is wonderful to work with an actor who has been in the industry for so many years and has played so many different characters and yet feeling fresh. As an actor, I understand what it takes to have an extremely long career and that requires a very different kind of skill set. It's not about just being relevant. It's about being memorable.
Then I met Avinash ..he is a very hardworking and very effortless actor. In fact, when I was doing a scene with him I didn't realise if he was saying his dialogues. He internalises a lot and performs beautifully. His prep is really very good. There is never a scene where he is not intense but intensity is a very interesting thing that I don’t think many people know how to do without doing much. He does it so effortlessly and that was a great learning for me being in the same frame and observing him.
Avinash Tiwary on Jimmy Shergill:
I really hope some of his talent, his versatility rubs off on me. In my coming time I wish I can at least replicate his skill set, I am able to replicate what he does to the characters he plays.
On how they decide picking up projects:
Tamannaah Bhatia: I’m very instinctive. Whenever I hear a script or meet somebody, it's just that energy you feel like, is it working or not? But I feel with this one, I didn't need to use my instincts because it was more about a wish list. I really wanted to work with Neeraj sir. Secondly, films are collaborative mediums and art, it is not driven by one person. So, for me only the script is not important because many times we hear such amazing stories but not every director has the capability or efficiency in presenting it on screen effectively. Some directors have the talent of presenting a very simple story in an interesting manner. When I go to watch a film whether in the theatre or on OTT, I want to forget my life. I want to go to another space. I am tired and don’t want to think about my work and life but if a story takes you into another world where you forget your life then that is what I call a good film. It could be on any platform but I am on the lookout for films like that.
Avinash Tiwary: I am an audience first before an actor. If a script excites me only then I do the film, I still don’t understand what people like because the audience themselves don’t know what they like. So, whatever I like, I try to do that. Also, I have been conditioned as an actor to believe that variety and versatility are true strengths as an actor. At one point of time, we would talk with friends ...when we were aspiring actors, we would discuss that 'Bro, you are too talented to just cater to being a hero’. We would say this to each other.This way we would keep inspiring each other to try doing other variety parts. Cinema was of only one type if we talk about the 2000 decade. Actors would be seen in the same character and there was not much variety; they were all typecast, whereas, internationally we could see so much variety so that has excited me and the journey has always been in that direction.
OTT vs Big Screen
Jimmy Shergill: I keep doing films for theatre because that is my first love and will always remain so. It is for 70 mm screens that I came into the industry. Even the OTT platforms would want films to first release in theatres and then come for streaming. Who doesn’t want community viewing? But not every film can be seen with people around, we are changing with the times. Definitely, the big screen is the main motivator for which we entered this industry. But there are a lot of choices on OTT for people to watch, be it romance, action, dark films, thrillers, comedy …These days our attention span is very low, and within a minute the audience moves to another film or series. It is not necessarily that people get bored, they just stop watching for some time. Not every person knows that ‘Never judge a book by its cover’. Some may not enjoy it at that time but after a month or so when others start raving about a show then they go back to something they had not liked earlier. We actors also get a lot of opportunities to listen to different kinds of stories which wasn’t the case in the past.
Avinash Tiwary: Television, especially serials mostly had female audiences and men didn’t have anything intimate to watch. Most men find that now through OTT, a lot of content comes for kids, and also for women. Something called 'Streeming' is what I have heard recently. This has never happened before. We reach 200 countries, never in the history before we had that kind of distribution system. It is Netflix that helped RRR reach the Oscars due to this distribution system. The platform gives a shelf life. Recently, my film Laila Majnu re-released in theatres after six years and this could happen because for six years it was on an OTT platform and people were watching it. From the theatre now again it is on OTT. That is a great sync. We are still in a new stage with OTT, we are still figuring out. Five to seven years from now it will all settle down and OTT will become a still bigger space.
There is so much work for the entire industry. There are better stories and better scripts that are coming out all thanks to OTT platforms because writers are playing on the front foot, earlier they were scared and wondered whether certain subjects would work or not. Even if they wanted to write something controversial, the producer-director would stop them saying, ‘Have you gone mad!’. So, what will work and what will not is not the case with OTT. Hence some really watchable content can be seen in new series.
Tamannaah Bhatia: Earlier it was all about stars but now there is space for good actors, the real talent and, of course, they go on to become stars whatever the audience makes of them.
On working with Neeraj Pandey
Jimmy Shergill: I have been in the industry for about 30 years and I haven’t seen any director take such long shots. If the camera is going behind your back even then you have to continue acting, that is a different kind of fun. I have been working with him since his first film so I have an idea about his working style. But it takes about half a day to crack that long shot.
Tamannaah Bhatia: What I like about Neeraj sir is that even in intense scenes .. usme ek phurti hai, it lifts you up, it is not like a downer. This is what I have seen only in his films. There is a lot of tragedy happening in people’s lives in his films but you don’t take the burden of it, in fact, it thrills you in some sort of way, you get energised by it. As an audience I can’t watch rona-dhona and sad things. I get very stressed when I read a script that has too much tragedy, I wonder if I will be able to watch it but with Neeraj sir's films it is very different the way he tackles such content.
Avinash Tiwary: With the limited experience I have as an actor I have never met a director who is so quick to make decisions. You walk on the set and before you say good morning, he is ready with the shot. When the shoot is over and as soon as there is a call for pack up, we turn and see he has already sat in his car and left for the day. When you are on set with him you are continuously working, it is a very focused set. The beauty is and you will see that in the film that there are a lot of long steady shots in the film which makes the whole process different. Going with the flow was the perfect way of doing this film.
Tamannaah Bhatia on glamour roles and making a splash with her cameo with dance number Aaj Ki Raat in Stree 2
I look at glamour differently. For me, glamour has always been about beauty and my own gaze on an item number [her dance number Aaj Ki Raat in recent blockbuster Stree 2 was a huge success] is that I am celebrating my beauty. Whenever I have performed a song, I have not looked down upon it. I love dancing and I feel ..I am born in a generation where I have the choice to celebrate my beauty versus looking down upon it or being shy or apologetic about it. Unapologetically celebrating my beauty and glamour is what 'Aaj ki Raat' was to the audience. I had that intention when I did 'Aaj Ki Raat' and that is what translated on screen, the perspective was not to titillate.
Avinash Tiwary: …and in Sikandar Ka Muqaddar you will celebrate the beauty of Tamannaah’s eyes.
Sikandar Ka Muqaddar also features Divya Dutta and Zoya Afroz in pivotal roles. It premiered on Netflix on November 29.
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