Dilip Jha is a respected name in the television industry and there is no doubt that he was born to hold the pen and narrate wonderful stories. He's brains behind Balaji Telefilms hits like Bade Acche Laggte Hain and Kyaa Hua Tera Vaada. However, Bindu Moving Images’ Ek Duje Ke Vaaste was his first project as a producer on TV. And guess what?
Dilip, who has been penning these shows, recently wrote the much-acclaimed movie M.S. Dhoni – The Untold Story, a biopic on cricketing legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Tellychakkar.com strolled into Dilip’s writing room and chatted with him regarding all things Dhoni…read on:
Talking about the initial phase of the film, Dilip shared, “The movie started rolling in 2013 and I was the first person on-board. Producer Arun Pandey and I have been working for a long time. He had offered me a movie earlier too, but I refused it as I was happy with TV. Dhoni is my debut movie as a writer.”
When we questioned Dilip about his research on Dhoni’s biopic, he answered, “I went to Ranchi to meet Dhoni. It was a lucky day for me as the entire Indian team was at his place for a party. I had a meeting with each player. I met Dhoni’s parents and they were such lovely and grounded people. I had a chat with his family, friends, teacher and coaches to learn each and every single bit of his story. The overall consensus was that he’s a unique boy. I also went to Delhi to meet Sakshi (Dhoni’s wife). She is a simple girl who shared her love story with me.”
Talking about about MSD as a person, he said, “Mahendra Singh Dhoni is all about sports. He's played table tennis and badminton too. He is a born athlete. Not many people know this, but Dhoni is an expert shooter too. He can handle any type of gun. I remember telling Neeraj Pandey not to dramatize the movie as Dhoni is a grounded person. That's why we shot most of the scenes at real locations.”
Elaborating on the cast, he said, “We had finalised Sushant Singh Rajput and Shahid Kapoor, but approached Sushant first. Since his performance was wonderful, we locked him in. Shahid also has immense potential, but Sushant did a fabulous job. Also, the credit goes to each and every person who has worked hard on the film.”
We also made him pick between biopic and fiction. He stated, “A biopic is tougher. A person’s life has many stories and it’s the producer’s job to pick the most entertaining aspect of the lot.”
While talking about his future projects, Dilip observed, “I am working on three films. On the TV front, I am working on something but can’t share details yet.”
All the best, Dilip!!!
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