Neeraj Pandey talks about his film 'Sikandar Ka Muqaddar', says title is tribute to 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'

Director Neeraj Pandey spoke about his upcoming project and what is special about the title. He shared that it is a reflection of his love and admiration for Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'.

He said, "It's a play on a film that I grew up on, and loved it. And I think our entire generation sort of loved that film. And it's in a way a tribute, in a way an ode to that particular film, but nothing to do in terms of genre."

Sikandar Ka Muqaddar weaves a complex narrative involving a heist, a police officer's unwavering instincts, and a pursuit spanning 15 years, promising an intense, adrenaline-fuelled drama.

Avinash Tiwary, Rajeev Mehta, Divya Dutta, and Zoya Afroz also feature in the film. The project is written and directed by Neeraj Pandey, with Vipul Rawal contributing to the screenplay.

On talking about the casting of the film, he said, "I'm very proud of the fact that I've come across some brilliant actors in my journey, right from my first film to now. It doesn't matter if they're debuting or they're veterans. The ability to surrender to the material that we are approaching them with, that's what makes these films what they are. There is a lot of effort that goes before you land on set. You do readings with your actors and we had readings with all three of them and Rajiv bhai individually. And they were really primed and prepped to land on the set and just deliver what's asked of them. It can only happen when you are prepared to that degree. Everybody was on their toes."

Tamannaah shared her working experience in the film, while. "I've always played different kinds of characters and... I think I mostly did them in the South Indian films, and I didn't get an opportunity to do it in Hindi films..."

On working with her co-stars, she shared, "After working with Avinash, I felt that he is a very effortless actor. When I am with him in a scene, I don't realise that he is speaking his dialogues. And he internalises a lot. He performs beautifully. And I had whatever screen space I had with Jimmy, I think he's magnetic actually on screen. And I love watching how he can just intimidate without really doing much. So that was fun to watch as an actor."

Jimmy opened up about his character and said, "Neeraj is such an amazing director. He's a friend of mine. I read the script and then we had a lot of discussions about things and everything and how he was looking at it and all that. And then finally the dialogue draft came and I was excited. I said this is going to be a little more interesting. And after that, I think we all worked hard and enjoyed a lot."

The film features Tamannaah Bhatia as Kamini Singh, Jimmy Shergill as Jaswinder Singh, Avinash Tiwary as Sikandar Sharma and Rajiv Mehta as Mangesh Desai.

The trailer begins with a call alerting the organisers of a diamond show of an impending theft, with the criminals supposedly equipped with AK-47s. Kamini Singh, who appears to be an exhibition staffer, informs visitors that red solitaires have been stolen. Jaswinder Singh, a tough cop, asks about the value of the red solitaires, which Mangesh Desai estimates to be between Rs50 and Rs60 crore. Using his "instinct," Jaswinder captures everyone and begins interrogating them harshly. Kamini, clearly frustrated, informs Sikandar, "Hum yaha se dur jayenge, to hi peecha chutega is sab se."

Sikandar is offered an opportunity to move to Abu Dhabi, which he accepts. But even there, he cannot escape Jaswinder, who continues to chase him. At the end of the video, Jaswinder tells Sikandar, "Tumhari biopic ka title hai Sikandar Ka Muqaddar aur uska director hu mai".

Check out the trailer.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCOaPpySX1H/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The crime drama, directed by Neeraj Pandey, will premiere on Netflix on November 29.