 We had a sleeper cell active in Pakistan at that point of raw agents and our raw agents were asked to go and locate this facility because it was a really top-secret mission that the Pakistanis were doing. It was absolutely illegal. This upcoming movie is of course Mission Majnu, starting Siddharth Malhotra. It's got a very interesting story. Amar ji, welcome to Candid Conversations. First thing really which I wanted to ask you was what made you choose this story? So first please call me Amar. I'm too young and despite the gray hair to be called any G or anything after that please. Thanks. So I mean I guess for all producers we're always looking for a good story. That's our starting point. All the films that I've worked on in the past that I've been associated with whether it's a K3, whether it's a Love Sonia, whether it's a Bajrangi Baijaan. It's always been the story which has been like that's like the thing that really gets us ticking and thinking. And that's I think also the USP of Mission Majnu along with of course this fabulous starrkast that we have. It's the story that really got us. It's set in the 1970s. It's about a great mission that our raw agents did in the heart of Pakistan. And I think it was important to tell the story because I think their bravery can be actually compared to our soldiers. The soldiers do it in uniform. Our raw agents do it without uniforms. And still this was slow enough. I think there are very few films that have told great stories about our raw agents. Razi was one of them. And I think Mission Majnu is another one. It tells a story about this mission that happened and that really changed the destiny of our two countries, India and Pakistan both. And just for the viewers, the ones who may not have seen the trailer or may not be convinced regarding the theme, if you could just give a sort of a short synopsis regarding what the movie is about. Obviously, I've seen the trailer. I've seen the teaser. But for the viewers, I want you to sort of give a synopsis. So the film is set between 1974 and 1977. We were just out of the Indopark 1971 war, which India won. And Pakistan was determined to make a nuclear bomb. And that was their only way in their thought process to kind of get any sort of control over India. And they started what was an illegal nuclear program at that time. And we had a sleeper cell active in Pakistan at that point of raw agents. And our raw agents were asked to go and locate this facility because it was a really top secret mission that the Pakistanis were doing. It was absolutely illegal. It was a mess. And I think for India it was really important at that time to stop this mission because otherwise the power in that in the sub region would have forever changed. And that's what this film is about, how they found this facility and what it meant for India and the agents of course. And how did you come across this story? Like how did probably the script writer or somebody else who ever came up with the script or the idea, how did they really pitch it to you? How did they come across it? How did you discover the story really? So actually all kudos to our writers. We have three of them. That is Sumit Bhattija, this Parveh Sheik and Asim Arora. And it was Asim and Parveh who actually came to us with just the story. It was because it was based on a real life incident. But they were the ones who brought it to us. And when I just heard the premise, I was like, you know, this is a great plot. And it really deserves to be told and deserves to be made. And I remember taking just the story to Siddharth Malhotra at that time. And he also loved it. And it was written jointly by Sumit, Asim and Parveh. Yeah. And I was seeing the trailer. Interesting. It was good to see Parveen Sethi after a long time. Yeah. Actually, yeah. Yeah, no, actually, it's, it's, there's a, there's a really good ensemble around sit in Rashmika. You know, whether it's Parveen Sethi, it's Sharya Bhashmi, there's Komod Mishra, there's Ashwad Bhatt. There's lots of really, really good actors, you know, around and all playing really important critical parts. Parveen Sethi obviously pays, you know, the head of raw at that time. So it's, yeah, we have a great ensemble around, around sit in Rashmika. And you know, I mean, I myself, when I was reading up about the story, I myself was not really aware of this. So, I mean, was it, was it really because it was such a secret mission? But since it was like over 50 years ago, still, you know, so little is known about it, or rather, maybe there is, of course, information about it. But how come the awareness about this issue is not there? People don't know much about it. So I think largely for two reasons. One is that it is a covert mission. You know, and unlike, I guess, missions of the army are, you know, they're documented a lot more, they've covered a lot more, but raw missions by the nature of who's doing the mission, which is an undercover agency, they don't really get documented that much. So which also means that, you know, we have to fictionalize parts of the film, because there are obviously lots of gaps in information. But the fact that this mission happened, and when you watch the film, you'll know that it was it was really genius what our what our raw agents did at that point, you know. So it's, it's, I mean, it's, it's just, it's just the nature of the beast. Yeah, that these missions are all very covert, they're quiet. They're under the radar. So they're not, we don't know enough about them. And actually, I think, but that's also joy, right? Because you discover all those years ago, how are agents, you know, they serve for this country. True, true. I think that's what makes it very interesting when you hear about a story for the first time, even in the internet age, where everybody seems to know, when you hear about something new, I never knew what mission was. And so there are like dozens of so many people out there who didn't know about it. One thing which I wanted to ask you, you know, because I've seen your, I've seen the, the kind of movies which you've done before, whether it's tubelight, or there's bhajrangi bhai jaan, there's mission majnu now, there are so many others really. I have always had this one particular view about producers. And I think I'm going to ask this one question to every producer who I interview. How do people face the stress? I mean, if you take, you know, as far as the theatrical release is concerned, so many times, you know, you're doing a theatrical release, then it gets delayed, and then it gets postponed again, then it comes on to OTT. I mean, that's like a very normal thing. And so many, you know, the delays and the production stuff, and then there may be some protests or whatever happening. How do you guys deal with the stresses? I have to ask you, did you meditate? I mean, really, I, you know, I think one is just, I mean, all of us, if you love the job we are doing, you know, nothing matters. And I think we're actually, I mean, I would consider myself really blessed that there are so many people wanting to make movies, there are so many stories that need to be told, and it's not easy to make all of this happen, right? And it's really, it takes, it takes really for, you know, for things to line up to actually get a movie made. So, I mean, even mission majnu, we shot, you know, we had the COVID, the first wave hit us, we were shooting in Lucknow and we had to, you know, pack up and come back. There were multiple delays because of that. And once you lose a location, you know, this being a period film, we had to do a lot of set work in Bombay, it never ends. It continues till the movie's out. But I guess it's also the joy of what you do. I mean, if you really wanted to go and make movies, and that's what, you know, it let, you know, that's what I'm allowed to do. I'll gladly pick up the joy that comes along the way, along with all the stress here. Okay, so it's not like you're going off to some Vipassana retreat every six months? No, no, no, no, not at all. Not at all. I'm gonna, I think it'll, like I said, I'm still young, I can still take a few years of that, of this beating that comes with it. Okay, okay. And last, last question really for you, you know, now OTT has become such a big player. Okay. Of course, you're, as far as mission majnu is going, you're going with Netflix. How do you weigh the pros and cons, the decision of should I release it in the theater, should I go for OTT, this film would be meant for theater, this would be meant for OTT, because also because of the pandemic, it has really, really affected the portfolio theaters. Right. I mean, okay, I have come back, but still it's that effect is there. No, sure. I don't think any of us can tell what movie will work in a movie theater or what movie will not work in the movie theater. The only honest call that you can take is whether the movie that you've made will find whether it's in a movie theater or on a platform. I think the greed for us honestly was that, you know, you're going to be in close to, you know, almost 200 countries on day in day. The day you go out on Netflix, it reaches 190 countries. I think that's a great opportunity for a film like mission majnu, you know, it can really reach to a much, much way wider audience. And I think that honestly was the opportunity for us. Netflix has been great to work with. They kind of, you know, they've really put their strength and might behind the film. And I think that I really do feel that mission majnu will find more love and a lot more love is the platform. True, true, because I think Netflix really exposes any film or series to a completely global audience. We have seen that in, I think, what was the name of that Korean series, I keep forgetting the name, but Squid Games, Squid Games is a very famous series which really make it global. But thanks for talking to us, Amar. And see, I've taken out the key like this interview. And best of luck for Mission Majnu and of course, all the other projects which you have lined up. Take care and all the best. Thank you. Thank you so much for talking to you. Thank you.