Abhishek Pathak Interview: 'I became a director after watching Ajay Devgan's films, made these changes in the story of the original film'

Nov 14,2022

Abhishek Pathak, who made his directorial debut with the film 'Ujda Chaman', has got the responsibility of directing 'Drishyam 2', a sequel to the superhit film 'Drishyam' this time. Despite his experiences working with the director Nishikant Kamat on the film 'Drishyam', growing up in front of Ajay Devgn, and the opportunity to direct him and the original Malayalam film 'Drishyam 2' being released on OTT, it has been made in Hindi. Abhishek had this exclusive conversation with 'Amar Ujala' about the challenges of taking it to theaters in a new way. This time Akshaye Khanna is also entering as a new character in the story of the film 'Drishyam 2'.

'Drishyam' was directed by Nishikant Kamat. Now the responsibility of its sequel is on you. Want to share some memories of working with Nishikant?

Sadly, Nishikant Kamat has left the world like this. Not a day goes by when we don't remember them. He was a very calm person and believed in working without any noise. Especially I learned this from Nishikant. When we used to talk when we had free time in the middle of the shooting, even at that too his focus was on work. At that time it was not thought that one day such a time would come when I would have to direct 'Drishyam 2'.

And, when did it feel that the sequel of 'Drishyam' should be made in Hindi also?

'Drishyam' has become a very good brand. Ashirwad Cinemas, which originally made it in Malayalam, initiated the sequel and when they made the sequel in Malayalam, they invited us to watch it. We had already made up our minds about this. That's it, by buying the rights to make the official remake of the film, we started work. And, then my father Kumar Mangat said that I should direct it as I have been involved with the film from its inception till its release during the making of the film before this. My point of view about the remake was that it doesn't have to be the same, so I have added some elements to it separately.

Remakes of South Indian films haven't received a great response this year, so the pressure will be on you too.

If the remake is made in the right way, people will like it. Hindi versions of most of the remake films you are referring to are available on digital platforms. 'Drishyam 2' is not yet available anywhere dubbed in Hindi. We have not directly copied it by taking the rights to the Malayalam film. We have made it our own.

And, how challenging was it directing Ajay Devgan?

I would say directing him has not been a challenge. I have known him since childhood. Starting as a production assistant in 'Omkara' till now I have had a cine journey of almost a decade and a half. First I prepared the Hindi script of 'Drishyam 2' and took it to Ajay Bhai and he was very excited. Yes, I was very nervous on the first day of the shoot and could not sleep the whole night before that. This is a big film for me. But then gradually everything became normal. Everyone had faith in the script of the film and everyone felt that we were making a good film.

Ajay himself is also a director. Did he teach you anything before or during the shooting of 'Drishyam 2'?

The shooting of the film 'Drishyam 2' was the first time for me when I was talking about the composition of a film in front of Ajay Devgan. During the shoot, whenever I wanted to take another take after two or three takes, he never asked any questions. After shooting the scene, he never even came to see his shot on the monitor. He used to see whether I am doing right or not. I have learned to trust the script and the director by watching him and doing all the preparation on paper before shooting is his biggest lesson.

How was your experience directing Tabu and Akshaye Khanna in 'Drishyam 2'?

The artists who had worked in 'Drishyam' did not need much explanation. Most of the talks and meetings happened with Akshaye Khanna about this film. This was a new subject for him. When I started writing the story of the film 'Drishyam 2', it was only then that I thought that Akshaye Khanna would play this character. This character has been written keeping him in mind.

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