Neeraj Pandey says films can’t sustain just by a string of action pieces without ‘clicking’ at emotional level: ‘Then violence can take over’

Considering what has worked at the box office this year–Pathaan, Jawan, Gadar 2 and Animal–and what Neeraj Pandey himself has been making on OTT, a pattern emerges that the audience could be largely interested in seeing only well-mounted projects.

But Neeraj disagrees and tells Indianexpress.com, “The story has to be relatable. Something has to click on a very, very basic level in terms of the story. You can’t sustain a film or a content piece just by… There has to be something that clicks on an emotional level. Just a bunch of action pieces won’t fly. There has to be something. If you decode it, you will find the appeal. Then the violence can take over and anything else can takeover.”

The Freelancer – The Conclusion features Neeraj Pandey as the creator and writer, while the series is directed by Bhav Dhulia, who had helmed the acclaimed show Khakee: The Bihar Chapter. The show stars Mohit Raina, Kashmira Pardeshi and Anupam Kher among others.

“The OTT landscape is exciting and the big differentiator will always be stories. You have to choose the right story and the second thing that goes hand in hand is scale. We don’t choose the scale first and then the story, it doesn’t work that way. Be it films or series, we have always looked for a great story,” he added.

After a relatively small-scale debut with A Wednesday, Neeraj Pandey increased the stakes with his next few outings with Special 26, Baby, and the biopic MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. While thriller remained his forte, the filmmaker kept playing a mix-and-match with the mounting of his films, never falling in the temptation to repeat a pattern even if the industry was asking him to.

“I have never succumbed to that and I hope that never happens in this lifetime,” the filmmaker signed off. The Freelancer – The Conclusion will stream from December 15.