Neeraj Pandey on web series Special Ops: Understood how to tackle sensitive issues on screen
Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey says he has understood how to tackle sensitive subjects in films without being controversial. Neeraj's films "A Wednesday", "Baby" and "Aiyaary", have dealt with socio-political issues such as terrorism and corruption. The filmmaker is now making his debut on the digital space with "Special Ops", a series that chronicles terror attacks the country has faced around a fictitious story.
When asked about precautions he took while making the series considering the sensitivity of the subject, Neeraj told reporters, "I have gotten used to it since 'A Wednesday.' It has been 12 years, so now I have gotten used to about what to say and how to say."
The Hotstar Special revolves around a manhunt for a fictitious terrorist mastermind responsible for carrying out multiple terror attacks, from the one on Parliament in 2001 to 26/11 in Mumbai.
The filmmaker said the series is set against the backdrop of the Parliament attacks but rest of the work is a piece of fiction. "The agenda was to tell a 7-7.5 hours story, which was of course not possible with a film. The reason we chased this idea was that it was big, not only in terms of its scale and scope but also in terms of its heart. It speaks about a protagonist and his team on a chase for 19 years and that itself was a fantastic point to start everything."
The action-packed spy thriller series, which he has co-directed with Shivam Nair, is mounted on international scale.
Neeraj said the key to make a successful spy thriller, however, lies in good writing. "If the writing is weak, then however you want to mount it, it's not going to work. So for me the key is good writing. If it's researched well, if it's set and rooted well, it's going to fly. Otherwise it's going to be a tough one all the way."
The show, featuring Kay Kay Menon, Karan Tacker, Divya Dutta, Saiyami Kher, and Vinay Pathak, among others, will start streaming from March 17.
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