Danish Devgn: He’s never easily impressed

After spending years in the capacity of an assistant director and creative producer in films Ajay Devgnrsquos nephew Danish makes his directorial debut with the Priyank Sharma and Ishita Rajstarrer music video Hanju tears In this interview he discusses picking direction as his profession and the invaluable lessons he has learnt from AjayEdited excerpts of the interviewWhat led you to direction and why did you decide to debut with a music videoI was the first kid in my family and my entire family was in this business I was put on the sets when I was a year old Since then watching the chaos the spot boys DOPs directors actors and the entire magic on set got to me I fell in love with that energy When I was in the third grade I had a camera with which I would shoot random things By the time I was in sixth grade I began editing I worked on Ajaystarrer You Me Aur Hum and that is where the learning process beganI was always mesmerised by the whole process that goes on behind the camera and thatrsquos what made me decide to take up direction Irsquove also been assisting as a director on sets for nine years and have worked with directors like Pradeep Sarkar Irsquove learned a lot from them in the process One learns from every little aspect on set Also Ajay ji taught me everything I know today My grandfather Veeru Devgn was also technically sound I kept grasping whatever I couldI wasnrsquot planning to make my debut with a music video Irsquove been working on another film thatrsquos releasing next year on which I am the creative producer This track came my way Kumar Mangat made me hear it and the minute I heard the vocals and the piano arrangements I was drawn to it The song is filled with pain and I was keen to shoot it aestheticallyPriyank Sharma and Ishita Raj in the music videoHow did you arrive at this castI wanted to give this song a contemporary and youthful touch Priyank is a favorite among the women and Ishita is admired by men too People have always seen her break hearts in her past films so I wanted to change things a bit They are really good performers and seasoned actors Aesthetically they fit the storyline Thatrsquos why I wanted them to helm itThe process of working on this video showed me how to compile emotions and pull off a narrative within a defined timeframe In the movies we have two hours of time to play with Here I had to fit it all in four minutes Things can either go right or wrong because extracting emotions in four minutes is a complex task A director needs at least six to seven minutes to establish a filmrsquos emotional arc Luckily I was supported by good actorsWhat were your conversations with Ajay on this numberWhen it comes to understanding the technicalities of direction like CGI sound and camera work he is superior to anyone Irsquove assisted Conversations with him are always educational Every day he surprises me with something new and better If Irsquom confused I talk to him and he enlightens me with things that I couldnrsquot think aboutHe has been in the game for so long I was nervous to show it to him He is not easily impressed I recall while working on Bhola he would never be impressed with suggestions But when I showed this to him he was impressedCan you share your plans as an artiste in this industryI am the creative producer at our production house Ajay Devgn Ffilms I am currently slating projects for us Irsquom also looking to direct more songs ads web shows and eventually a film I am still in the process of scripting it It will be two to three years before I work on it