The principal cast of the spy thriller Naam Shabana — Taapsee Pannu, Prithviraj and Manoj Bajpayee — come across as a robust antidote to the debate on nepotism ruling Bollywood or not.
Recently, actress Kangna Ranaut opened the proverbial can of worms when she observed that merit doesn’t always win you roles and that members of an acting clan have it easy in Hindi cinema. But the star-studded cast of Naam Shabana, that has actors of various pedigree and backgrounds, tells a different story.
Prithviraj, the son of the legendary Malayalam actor Sukumaran, is a superstar down South, but in Hindi cinema he has no connections to tug at just like industry outsiders Pannu and Bajpayee, his Naam Shabana co-stars, releasing in the UAE on March 30.
Produced by Neeraj Pandey and Akshay Kumar, the prequel to his hit film Baby also features the action star, who worked his way up from being a chef to one of the most bankable actors in Hindi cinema.
“We always need a word of the season and it’s nepotism now. I think nepotism and being an outsider is a part of the same coin... I agree outsiders don’t get an easy start but if we even do half a good job, they [the audience] accepts us in a warm way. But star kids start with so much expectations that it becomes too heavy for them,” said Pannu in an interview with Gulf News tabloid! during a press junket in Dubai last week.
The actress, who captured the public imagination with the hit thriller Pink, got her big break when this film that delved into the world of single women in Delhi tackling sexual violence became a sleeper hit. But the wait for was long for Pannu as she had to face many box office duds before enjoying success.
“Star kids are not allowed to grow as an actor at their own pace. They have to strike the right chord from the beginning... And for us, nobody will pick up the telephone and make that call,” said Pannu, alluding to powerful, well-connected family members urging producers to cast their personal favourites.
But Pannu, who plays the title role in Naam Shabana, refuses to play the victim card.
“It’s not like I didn’t know about it when I entered this industry... I am proud to be an outside and I am going to use that to connect to my audience... Think about it, I wouldn’t have got films like Pink and a title role in Naam Shabana if nepotism ruled... I have never felt victimised or suppressed,” said Pannu, who was even branded as a cursed star by the film fraternity when her initial films didn’t do well at the box office.
Prithviraj, who was seated next to her during this interview, has a different spin to favouritism. He plays Tony, a warped anti-hero in the spy thriller. The Malayalam A-lister, who made his Bollywood debut with Aurangzeb, is relatively new to Hindi films but is a seasoned actor down south with dozens of hits such as Indian Rupee.
“It was much easier for me than an outsider. I got my first film because my surname read Sukumaran. But I am not closing in on my 100th film because my surname is Sukumaran,” said Prithviraj with his trademark confidence.
Producer Pandey also claims that he has never played favourites when it comes to casting decisions.
“When I cast him [Akshay Kumar in Special Chabbis], I didn’t like him. But we worked well together and we were professionals about it. I never knew him when I met him for Special Chabbis. But we got along and we have a good working relationship. And why not work with people whom you enjoy working with?,” said Pandey, who claims there were no egos at play either, during the filming of Naam Shabana.
Everybody were on their best behaviour, he claims.
Prithviraj even has an interesting anecdote about how he associated “Bollywood films as taking more time than necessary and spending more than what was necessary” and how this film gave him a different perspective.
“But this film shattered all those misconceptions. On the first day of shoot, my line producer asked me arrive on the sets at 6am saying we could then wrap up by 5pm. And in my head I went: ‘yeah, right, who will start work at 6am’?,” said Prithviraj. But he was wrong and he realised that when he turned up 30 minutes late and the whole unit was waiting for him to arrive.
Producer and director Neeraj Pandey belongs to the new breed of Bollywood filmmakers who have a watertight script before filming and aren’t dictated by tantrums or suggestions by big Bollywood stars.
The spade work for Naam Shabana was done during the making of Baby, which Pandey directed. Naam Shabana dwells on Pannu’s character who briefly appeared in Baby as Akshay Kumar’s aide.
“The idea of Naam Shabana was on the cards during the edit of Baby where we saw Tapsee do an eight or ten minute role. The kind of impression that she left made us wonder why not tell her story on how she landed on the team. We got the script done and got the film going,” said Pandey. Actor Manoj Bajpayee joins the franchise as the intelligence chief who discovers potential in Shabana as a spy.
“My job is to spot people who have the possibility of becoming a field agent or spy. He monitors their training and assigns them job. He’s straightforward and doesn’t give any illusions or deviate from his purpose. He’s cold and unemotional when it comes to training,” said Bajpayee. Pannu has a similar mental make-up.
“This character is totally opposite to me in real life. Having said that she is a woman of few words, extremely focused, she has a good sixth sense, can anticipate and read between lines. Her reaction time is excellent too, perhaps that is why she gets spotted for the task,” said Pannu. She underwent months of Mixed Martial Arts training to prepare for her role.
Prithviraj cannot reveal much about his role as he would be giving the plot away, but he claims that this film doesn’t exploit gender vulnerabilities.
“Even if the film was called Naam Shantanu and a guy was doing a title role then I would have said yes to my role. It was such a great film on paper but I have to admit that the film became even more exciting when I realised that the protagonist is a girl. But at any point the film doesn’t pitch upon her vulnerability,” said Prithviraj.
Pannu couldn’t agree more. Even though the filming sets of Naam Shabana was testosterone-charged, she didn’t have to become one of the boys.
“The way I fight in my film, it is very believable. It is not like I am punching and five people go flying from all directions... Heroism is not about gender. Heroism is independent of gender and I think it is high time that we see the term hero applies to both girl and boy. It is not a gender fight to be a hero.”
Don’t miss it
Naam Shabana is out in the UAE on March 30.
QUOTE UNQUOTE
“Beggars can’t be choosers. When I was new, I was happy that I was getting roles that were strong. I never got those larger than life, commercial, diva-ish roles. There were many beautiful girls who were doing an amazing job at that opposite big heros... But I have that cutesy girl next door role in Judwaa 2,” said Pannu.
“The main challenge was to remember my line. I have around 200-250 lines and I talk so much in this film,” said Manoj Bajpayee on his biggest challenge when it came to his role in Naam Shabana.
Did you know?
Actors Taapsee Pannu, Prithviraj and Manoj Bajpayee did not audition for their roles in Naam Shabana. But they are convinced that Neeraj Pandey and director Shivam put them through the grind anyway.
“My audition was my full-fledged film called Baby. Thankfully he approved of it and every viewer approved of my ten minute role,” said Pannu.
Meanwhile actor Bajpayee believes that Pandey is a task master.
“For every role that Mr Neeraj Pandey chooses me for, I go through the trials and tribulations. He is not somebody who is easily satisfied. With the characters, he damages whatever an actor is thinking and then starts to build it up for you,” said Bajpayee.
