Bejoy Nambiar talks about his nervousness while casting Neil Nitin Mukesh and the sequel of Shaitan
Some times a simple ‘phew’ can speak so much. Directing a bi-lingual film, that too with a host of cameo artists, is no joke. Ask Bejoy Nambiar who laughingly describes the shooting of his upcoming Tamil-Hindi film as a ‘complete nightmare’ and reassures that it has nothing to do with managing all the actors on the sets.
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Why was it a nightmare?
(Laughs) Not all of it. Lot of interesting things happened too. The last story was especially fun. It was the concluding part and the weather in Belfast in Northern Ireland was beautiful and freezing cold. We got a lot of free time too because we couldn’t shoot beyond 12 hours there. So we were forced to party. We stayed there for ten days and each day, the harder we worked the harder we partied.
How did you find working with Neil? Were you nervous, considering his past films haven’t done so well at the box office?
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I had approached other actors earlier, but now after having worked with him, I don’t think any one else would have done justice to this role. I feel he is under-rated as an actor. You know, there are some kids who ratta maroo and some who just need to read it once to get it right. Neil is one actor who listens to the script once and starts working. It seems as if a USB device is fit into his head. There were very few times when I had to interrupt him in a scene.
Was it difficult convincing Tabu or Sarika to do your film?
Tabu is an absolute delight to work with. She agreed instantly after listening to the narration. I was always keen to work with Sarika Ma’am. I had approached her earlier for a role but she had refused. But surprisingly when I called her for the item number, she quickly agreed.
What’s next?
My focus is on this film right now. Then I am doing another film called Getaway, co-produced by Ekta and me, and then another production. I am also doing a remake of a Tamil movie called ‘Pizza’.
So no more television shows like Rush?
Nahhhhh!!!! Not at all. Once is enough. It wasn’t a happy experience and I take all the blame for it; I couldn’t do justice to it at all. The concept was very dear to me. I am still quite proud of four-five episodes out of the seven but still I am not happy with it. Right now, the focus is on films, films and films.
Lot of directors are into sequels and remakes of their films. Any plans for Shaitan?
I am just waiting for my phone to ring... waiting for Viacom to call me and say that let’s make Shaitan-2! (Laughs) No plans for Shaitaan yet. I am not even thinking about it. I have too many other stories to tell. You know, when people come to me with scripts, I have to tell them that I have my own bank of stories to tell. So let me finish telling them first. u00a0
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