Commando 3 director Aditya Datt learnt filmmaking while making films

Director Aditya Datt says all his films that didn't work taught him a lesson about life and filmmaking. The filmmaker made his debut with "Aashiq Banaya Aapne", which was a musical hit. He was unable to follow the success with "Table No 21", despite receiving good reviews, "Dil Diya Hai", "Good Luck!" and "Will you Marry Me?"

Aditya said storytelling has changed over the years and he has learnt to walk with the time. "I had six years of experience before I directed my own film. I was 21 when I did 'Aashiq Banaya Apne' and I feel blessed with the love I got for the film. I learnt filmmaking while making films. One has to keep on educating oneself in filmmaking, the way you narrate stories, the technical knowledge," Aditya told PTI.

The director said earlier both cinema and audience were taken for granted. "You tend to take things for granted. I feel back then we took films and audiences for granted thinking that everything and anything will work. If we have good music, box office collection will do well.

"Times have changed. Songs can't make a film work. The story and the narrative need to make the film work. People are exposed to so much cinema that happened to me as well. From 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' to 'Table No 21', it was kind of a learning phase for me. I feel I am learning things even now."

Citing the example of his debut web-series "Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone", Aditya said, he chose to bring the human side of Sunny's story on screen rather than her controversial life as a former porn star.

"... It gave me the window to explore a lot of things but I was clear I wanted to tell the human side, not the flesh and sex side of it... You need to educate yourself and make better stories."

His last film was 2013 critically-acclaimed film "Table No 21" and the director said he didn't want to do anything he was unsure about. In the meanwhile "Karenjit Kaur", which seemed interesting to him, happened but he simultaneously started working on "Commando 3".

Aditya said producer Vipul Shah and leading man Vidyut Jammwal approached him to direct the third part of action-thriller franchise. "They saw 'Table No 21' and they were looking for a director for 'Commando 3'. I was looking to do an action film. They had an idea and they asked me to read it. Then we started developing it."

The director said he has tried to bring out a humane side of Vidyut's action hero on screen. "I don't want to show the action sequences with no head and tail to it. In 'Commando 3', there is a strong reason behind every action sequence that takes place.

"You will see a new side of Vidyut. I wanted the character of Karan Singh Dogra to be little soft. I want the audience to be engaged in a story, enjoy the thrill, action and in the end, take a thought back home."

Gulshan Devaiah plays the role of the antagonist Buraq and Aditya said he was clear he didn't want to present the character as a typical villain. "I believe the villain has to be stronger than the hero. We wanted someone who could be menacing. It is not about defeating him (Vidyut) with power but with brains.

"He is from London, he is educated. In today's day and age, all the people who are discovered as terrorist activities or terrorism are day-to-day looking guys, they do not have a scary get-up. He needs to look like a regular guy."