Netflix to stream Neeraj Pandey’s Sikandar Ka Muqddar from Nov 29

Jimmy Shergill, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Avinash Tiwary feature in Neeraj Pandey’s next action-adventure heist film, ‘Sikandar ka Muqaddar’, is set to start streaming on Netflix from November 29. In a recent interaction with the media, Avinash, Jimmy, and Tamannaah shared their experiences of working with Neeraj and each other for the first time in this film.

Avinash, who had previously worked with Neeraj in ‘Khakee’, said, “It is the shortest script I have read. I thought it was incomplete and that some pages were missing. As we neared the completion of the film, we received the climax pages. When I started working on it, I realized how it opens up into this film which we have made.”

Jimmy and Neeraj have collaborated on different projects in the past. Speaking about working with his old director once again, Jimmy said, “Neeraj has always been very organized and precise as far as scripts are concerned. Everything is organized when you are shooting with him. All you need to do is know your part, come and do it, which is a big thing because his shots are very long. In my 30-year career, I have not seen many directors randomly choreograph such long shots of five-six page scenes in a single shot. It is an amazing experience even for actors, because you have to be on your toes every moment. We keep rehearsing from early morning until noon and get it right by around 2 o’clock. He is known for that. He has always been a workaholic, which is a great thing.”

Tamannaah, working with the director for the first time, had high praise for him. She said, “He cinematically treats a lot of real moments, which is why when we see his films, we feel it is magical. It is because he treats very mundane things cinematically. I really liked that and got the opportunity to experience firsthand how he does it, and that was fun.”

Although Avinash and Tamannaah were never cast in any film together before, they had met each other in their teens. Revealing an interesting fact about their previous encounter, Avinash said, “I first met her on the sets and realised that I had met her when she was in the 9th standard. It was during a workshop. I had finished my 12th and thought of pursuing a career in acting and was attending some workshops. Everyone was older than me there, but there was only one person younger than me, and that was her. She looked as pretty then as she does now. She is remarkable, and her presence is something you cannot forget. I came back and saw her in films and wasn’t sure if she was the same person I had seen in the workshop until we met now. This was way back in 2002 or something. Finally, we met on the sets; she is so warm. She has that inherent niceness, which she may have got from her parents, and it reaches you. It became easier for us to do what we did in the movie after a few workshops. That warmth made us friends.”

Avinash also confessed to looking up to Jimmy during his growing-up days. He said, “When I was thinking of becoming an actor, you look around for actors for inspiration. For some reason, when I saw him, I thought that I should become an actor like him. I remember reading his interviews after ‘Maachis’ when I was a student. I remember sitting down and reading it, thinking that whatever he said in the interview, I need to do it to be an actor. Finally, to sit down with him and do the scenes, I felt like my life had completed a full circle. When we did scenes together, I used to get those flashes of old days and felt that finally, I have reached here. I used to take a lot of joy in it, just sitting in front of him and performing.”

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