The Night Manager director Sandeep Modi: Sometimes the job of a director is not to tell actors what to do, but to remind them what not to do – Exclusive – Times of India

What was the strategy behind releasing Part 1 and Part 2 four months apart?

It took 3 years to put this show together. As a filmmaker, I feel greedily that the audience should enjoy the show the way it was envisaged.It is a saga for me. It’s a big emotional story of a man who has seen the crime and is reacting to it. He is willing to turn his whole world upside down just to make the wrongs right.
I am not a huge fan of the belief that all stories should be binged. There are two major OTT platforms that have made a mark. One is Netflix which came as a disruptor saying we will put it out together. The HBO show The Wire used to come once a week but it was a great show. Now, you can see that Netflix changed its strategy and split the season into two. While it’s good to disrupt and do something different, the joy of the story is not always in coming across to make people watch it for eight hours straight.
Do you think when the audience is watching the fifth episode in the fifth hour with their eyes stretched, are they watching it in the right spirit? So, while we were editing the show it was an unsaid rule that it will all be streamed together. It started with me saying, “Can we do a weekly drop?” After I saw the whole edit, I felt that it is such an intricately crafted show and so much good work has gone into it, it might be better as a weekly drop. So, that’s how the conversation started – can we present this show to the audience differently?
And it was the collective wisdom including the platform who suggested that instead of a weekly drop, we go for part 1 and part 2. Because otherwise, our finale would have come during the IPL. Also, there were big films releasing. So, that’s how the decision was made. We used whatever time we had because of the gap to keep polishing it.

Do you think about casting while writing? Any comments on Hrithik Roshan being the first choice for Shaan Sengupta’s role?

I have written twelve scripts in the last fourteen years out of which only one film has got made. It’s not about who you want. It’s also about what actors want in their life at this point in time. What is his career stage and growth? Secondly, every character has its destiny. Eventually, it’s not about who was considered before, it’s about who we cast and who makes the character his own.
I have learned my lesson that never think of an actor. Then you start writing around an actor. When you think of a character, then the actor can become the character easily. Sometimes, in supporting cast, I cast people that I know. I steal character names too. Naren who is Lipika’s (Tillotama Shome) husband in The Night Manager is one of my closest friends and business partners. I keep borrowing things from life around me. The guy who plays Angelo whom BJ hires to keep an eye on Shaan is actually a sound recordist and sound designer of the show. His name is Yatrik Dave. I persisted to cast him.
I say this very openly to Aditya Roy Kapur also that we had approached many actors. I won’t take any names. But eventually, when we went to Aditya, it felt like it was the right fit. While you’re hungry for an actor, the actor was also hungry to do this. This was the kind of part that he was looking to play at this stage in his career. And he was willing to commit the amount of energy it required for Shaan. To do the five looks that he has as the character goes through so much emotionally over the five years, stands out for me.

How was it working with Anil Kapoor?

He is a gem of a guy and I connect with him at a deep, personal level now. Whether we have work or no work I make a point to call him and chat. We have lunch together. He is a great mind. The way he has kept himself alive not just by his energy but the way he has adapted to the times. He has kept himself alive in the audiences’ minds and filmmakers’ minds. He is so young, fit and disciplined about it. He says, “I am a marathon man.” And he believes that sometimes, my part may not be the best part in the film but I want to be available there so that the best parts come to me. And I want to be fit, healthy and hungry for it – not just in India but abroad too. I like that about him and I am a huge fan more so after knowing him and directing him.

Does he ask for retakes?

He actually understands the set and what is required so well that very rarely he’d ask for an extra take. If he does, you have to give him the space to do it. He doesn’t come to the monitor and check the shot. The only thing that he does is that he goes to the sound recordist and listens to the dialogue to hear his tone. He had found a tone for Shelly so he’d wear the headphones and check whether his tone was correct or not. His attention to detail is quite immaculate.

What about the female characters?

Sobhita Dhulipala is one of the most exciting young talents not just in the OTT space but across India. She works with Mani Ratnam, she does indie cinema, she is working with Zoya Akhtar. She is like a chameleon. She can adjust and adapt to any part offered to her. She is such a well-read girl. The way she articulates her thoughts is so beautiful. She is extremely intelligent and sharp. Her understanding of complex characters is quite nice. Some people are wiser than their age and Sobhita is one of them.

How did you cast Ravi Behl?

That credit goes to Mukesh Chhabra. He spotted Ravi Sir somewhere in Versova and they were having coffee or something and he sent me his photo saying, “See, I have found your Jaivir Singh.” It took me a moment to recognise Ravi Sir with his beard and everything. So, we met once and it was ON.

When films are not working in cinemas and OTT seems to be a safe space, you are going to direct a film for Dharma Productions…

OTT and cinemas have their own fun. I think some stories are meant to be watched in cinemas, enjoyed with 200-300 people watching together. That energy is altogether different. And I am not taking the risk, the producers are. So, you can ask them this question. I am having a great time. I am connecting more with stories and how I tell them differently. These are just phases. I’m sure once the right stories come together, people will support them.

What would you say about the process of Aditya Roy Kapur and Anil Kapoor?

Both have their own processes. I have a different process with each one of them. Anil Sir reads dialogues months earlier and writes down his dialogues in a book. He practices so much.
With Aditya, it is not much about the lines and emotion but what emotion you’re carrying into the scene. So, we work a lot towards what is the thought process, why the character is there etc.
Both are different schools of actors and both are brilliant in their own way. You have to support them in whatever way you can to get the best out of them. They are senior enough. I have struggled for fourteen years. Aditya has been around and worked so hard. Anil Sir has been there for 40 years. I am a 40-year-old man. Sometimes, the job of a director is not to tell actors what to do but to remind them what not to do.