The recent murder mystery Neeyat is headlined by Vidya Balan but includes a dozen other stalwarts who form a more than capable ensemble cast. The film, which shows a closed-door mystery, features multiple suspects and even victims in a two-hour-long thrill ride.
With so many accomplished actors on board, it could not have been easy for director Anu Menon in terms of man management, at least. “I think there were no egos on set, that much I can say,” she tells us when we ask her about the challenges of managing an ensemble. But she does admit it was tricky.
Did you feel like a school teacher, we ask. Anu sighs and responds, “Unfortunately, I did. Also, I am a mother to only child. So, it was weird because I would compliment someone saying ‘that was really good’, and two other people would say ‘what about me’. And I would have to tell them they were good too. I couldn’t even compliment a dog.”
The director equates her actors to needy children and quips, “Obviously, when you are on the set, you are concentrating on just that. But they are all like children and they are all needy. It’s in the moment.”
But there were positives about the ensemble as well. Anu shares, “I think everybody got along and most importantly, when we said action, they all immediately switched on. And the performances are uniformly great. That is always the toughest thing because in an ensemble, if one performance is weak, then the whole thing comes down. It’s always very nerve-wracking because you need all of them to be good.”
Neeyat also stars Ram Kapoor, Rahul Bose, Dipannita Sharma, Shashank Arora, Shahana Goswami, Neeraj Kabi, Prajakta Koli, Nikki Aneja Walia, Danesh Razvi, and Amrita Puri. The film is currently running in theatres.
