Siddharth Malhotra: Paisa Vasool is the right word for 'Bestseller'

Filmmakers Mukul Abhayankar and Siddharth Malhotra get candid on their upcoming show Bestseller that drops on Amazon today on February 18What were the discussions regarding the casting of the series Siddharth says We wanted people who suited the characters since itrsquos a psychological thriller We wanted actors but with some amount of star value To get an actor with a star value that process was discussed between the three of us Certain casting was predecided While writing only certain casting comes to your mind and you feel certain people will play certain roles so you pick up the phone and say lsquohey this is a script why donrsquot you read this and be a part of it And thatrsquos exactly what happened with this showAsk the filmmaker what fascinated him about the subject he answers ldquoThe story itself I read the script even before the manuscript was released Ravi Subramanian whorsquos the author of the book is a very dear friend of mine When he gave me the manuscript we were meeting to collaborate on a film He asked me to read the manuscript which I loved My coproducer Raj Mehta whorsquos my uncle we decided to buy the manuscript and make it into a series We decided as a film we will never be able to do justification to the subject And while writing the series we realised we cannot just stick to the book We have to add new plots and elements So eventually the contribution of all the writers Anvita Althea Mukul drove me to say that this story has to be toldrdquoMukul Abhayankar then talks about the freedom a filmmaker has while making a series sans censorship and length issues Does he agree entirely ldquoItrsquos not entirely true because a filmmaker has to worry about censorshiprdquo He adds ldquoI almost started my journey way back with Siddharth and that journey also allowed me to be a producer So one thing you teach yourself is that yoursquore not going to shoot a single thing extra that will cost the producer or the platform extra pain Our production was very tight and we didnrsquot shoot a single thing more than the written words Though yoursquore making eight episodes yoursquore making three films Itrsquos really overwhelming contentrdquoSiddharth then goes on to talk about the leading man of the show Arjan Bajwa his evolution as an actor and if they are friends ldquoSo Arjan and I are not friends so to say We have been in touch Itrsquos very generous that he likes my work I always select subjects that are not runofthemill I like taking risks When I was writing Bestseller Amazon me we came up with the idea of Arjan There was a person called Swati Pandey who worked with Amazon before she was our AP she came up with the idea of Arjan I said hersquoll be a great option for Tahir Wazir Because Arjan is Tahir Wazir in every way Hersquos tailormade for that role He has done it so brilliantly He has done readings with me and Mukul with Gauahar he has done photo sessions with Mukul Hersquos asked questions time and time again on his performance I could see therersquos a hungry actor who wants to come out in a way he deserves And I hope we have lived up to his expectationsrdquo he saysWhat are the two gentlemenrsquos favourite films and performances of Mithun Chakraborty Mukul goes first ldquoI may have seen a 100 films of Mithun Da but of course films like Prem Pratigya Hum Paanch that was one of his first films he did after he graduated from FTII I loved Mithun Da when he played normal characters because hersquos a phenomenal actor Irsquove also loved his maardhaad films as a part of that generation And the usual suspects like Disco DancerrdquoSiddharth then says ldquoHum Paanch Mrigayaa So many films of his There was Dhuan I have seen him in all Umesh Mehra films Umesh Mehra was my fatherrsquos closest friend so I have grown up being on Umesh Mehrarsquos sets and seeing Mithun Da in all those films be it Mujrim I love Boxer He has done such a variety of films But these are the few I can pick and say that they stayed with merdquoHas Mukul ever faced a block just like his protagonist in the series ldquoThankfully not This was not given to me When yoursquore a director you are always waiting for people to throw opportunities at you Irsquom a trained writer Irsquove done the majority of my work with Sidharth I have worked with many producers but a large body of work has been under his productionrdquo he saysAsk Siddharth about the one takeaway from Bestseller he answers ldquoI come from a film family so Irsquom very proud of films and being filmy So to say For me a show has to entertain For me this is a full masala potboiler without going pseudointellectual esoteric in a dark zone showing cleavage for eyeballs We havenrsquot used such tropes We have gone towards the tropes of classy storytelling and strong performances When I watch Scam 1992 Paatal Lok I ask pe open to watch these shows I want people to say the same about Bestseller Paisa Vasool is the right word for this show because itrsquos got it all locations stars writing and the editing which is very fastpacedrdquo