The jodi of filmmaker Neeraj Pandey and superstar Akshay Kumar has worked wonders at the box office. The duo have hits like ‘Baby’ and ‘Rustom’ in their kitty so it came as a surprise to cine buffs when Neeraj did not cast Akshay in his upcoming movie ‘Ms Dhoni: The Untold Story’. Speaking about why he let go off Akshay, Neeraj said that it was next to impossible to cast him.
He said that since the biopic of the ODI captain of Indian cricket team Mahendra Singfh Dhoni, chronicles his journey, Akshay would not have been apt for the role; especially, the part where Khiladi Kumar would have been expected to play a teenager.
"It was not possible for Akshay to play a 16-17 year old teenager in the movie as Dhoni's younger version. So I didn't cast him as MS Dhoni," director Neeraj Pandey said in an interview on Friday.
However, the two have joined hands again for ‘Crack’, which will release on Independence Day weekend next year.
Also Read: No pretending here: Sushant says he was Dhoni during shooting of the biopic
After doling out reasons for not casting Akshay,Neeraj revealed why he brough Sushant Singh Rajut on board. Heaping praises on the young actor he said, Sushant know his job well.
"Sushant reads the script very sincerely. He also picked the body language right", said the director.
The director also said that he enjoys making patriotic movies and specially because of good boxoffice response he would continue doing so.
"MS Dhoni is also a patriotic film in its own way. It also speaks against corruption." said the maker of films like Baby and A Wednesday.
His research team had worked extensively meeting MS Dhoni's friends, family, coaches and also officials who have worked with Dhoni in Kharaghpur.
On being asked how cricketer Yuvraj Singh has been shown in the film he said he will definitely like it.
"We don't want to hurt someone. It’s a clean movie and Yuvraj Singh will definitely love it. You don't become big by hurting someone"
the maker expressed.
The director also cleared that his film is beyond just cricket.
"The story of MS Dhoni is not just about cricket .It is his journey. If you are having a dream you can chase it and achieve it".
After several patriotic movies it will be Neeraj Pandey's first venture into a biopic. The biopic releases on September 30.
(With IANS Inputs)
