As Tariq (played by Sidharth Malhotra) patiently awaits a trunk call from Hindustan so he can plot his next step for his undercover mission in Mission Majnu, we experienced goosebumps in that exact moment when he reveals his full name on the call as Amandeep Singh. Sid plays an undercover RAW agent posted in Pakistan who transfers classified information about its nuclear facility to India in this spy thriller directed by Shantanu Bagchi.
Mission Majnu, starring Rashmika Mandanna and Sidharth Malhotra, has emerged as one of the most loved films of the year, giving Bollywood a much-needed headstart for 2023. While fans and critics praised the film, Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui criticised it for a lack of research. Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Times Now, Shantanu revealed the meticulous planning that went into putting this labour of love together. From researching about Pakistan’s nuclear facility to Rashmika’s role as a blind girl, know how this spy thriller unfolded.
As Mission Majnu marks Shantanu’s directorial debut in the film business, he reveals if making a spy-thriller was always on the cards. “It wasn’t on the card or anything. In the first film, you are not in a position to judge things. I was going through a lot of scripts, and this one came to me; I liked it. Most of the movies we see around are remakes, but I believe in the original. This film is based on a real-life incident. Seeing the relationship between us and the neighbouring country, we had a wonderful, dramatic cinematic opportunity to tell an engaging story. These elements rarely come together in a story, and that appealed to me; hence, I thought of taking the plunge.”
Amid the accusations made by Pakistani actor, Shantanu revealed the detailed process that went into making this spy-thriller look appealing, accurate, and a cinematic treat. He said, “One thing we figured out was whether there was an actual nuclear facility that Pakistan built at that time. I had to interpret it well; visual research was very important. Are there any images of the facility that we included at the end of the film, where there is a black-and-white photograph, that show the same facility.”
We were talking about the 1970s, not the period-drama thing. One can find images on which we based our production. At the time, most people wore sherwanis, so we looked into what kinds of shirts, haircuts, and heroes were popular. It was based on visual research and the research of the facts, which showed that it did happen. As we are making a mainstream film, we also had to build some parts dramatically,” he added.
Not only the appealing visuals, on-point sets, and dialect looked perfect, but a lot of effort went into presenting Rashmika’s role as a blind girl. Talking about the same, he said, “She took a lot of workshops on cooking, catching a ball, and more, blindfolded. I always go for “less is more.” The idea was that Rashmika didn’t need to stage it on her face. Most blind people I have observed are very casual; that’s all I asked her to maintain. Attention to detail-like not blinking a thousand times or shaking your hands to grab something, listening skills. But when you are interacting in a dialogue with blind people, that keenness is what we wanted. She nailed it pretty well.”
Mission Majnu not only sailed on technical and production accuracy, but it also had the perfect amount of drama and sentiments, making it an emotionally overwhelming treat. Shantanu described his favourite scene from the film, saying, “It was the last airport scene. I did not see the footage for a very long time. We just instantly knew that both Sid and Rashmika had done brilliantly in the scene. I did not want to mess it up in editing. It was too emotional to watch”
