Neeraj Pandey: Ajay Devgn brings intensity to his characters

Ajay Devgn

In 2018, Ajay Devgn had created a flutter when he announced his ambitious period drama, Chanakya. His first collaboration with director Neeraj Pandey was expected to roll in 2020, but the pandemic thwarted their best-laid plans. Now that the film industry has bounced back in action, the actor-director duo is ready to roll up their sleeves and give shape to their passion project.

"We will begin shooting for Chanakya towards the year-end. I hope we can start hard prep soon. We did a VFX test [on the possible looks as Chanakya] in December, and the results were fantastic," says Pandey. Given his knack for thrillers that include A Wednesday and Baby (2015), the director is exploring unfamiliar territory with the period piece about the 4th century BCE philosopher and economist. "It's an out-and-out historical drama. I have never tackled the genre before and want to take up the challenge."

Neeraj Pandey

Devgn has a chock-a-block calendar in 2021 - he has kicked off his directorial venture, Mayday, and will follow it up with Thank God while simultaneously prepping for Chanakya. Eager to see his leading man bring his own interpretation to the scholar, Pandey says, "Ajay is the most natural fit for the role. He brings intensity to his characters - something that was required for this part. We also needed someone with clear [intonation] and quality of speech."

Reports have suggested that Devgn will go bald for the part. Quiz the director on it, and he says, "That's trivial. With the kind of VFX and prosthetics that we have today, it won't be necessary."