Shantanu Bagchi, the director of Mission Majnu, which stars Sidharth Malhotra and Rashmika Mandanna and is currently topping Netflix’s charts in India, recently shared details of his work in an interview with Hindustan Times.
Bagchi, who made his debut as a child actor in Satyajit Ray’s Sonar Kella, reminisced about Ray and his influence on his filmmaking journey, as well as his experience making Mission Majnu.
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Many fans wished for a theatrical release of Mission Majnu, and this continued to be echoed on Twitter even after it was available on Netflix on January 20.
Source: Google
Shantanu commented on the situation, saying, “I understand why people might say that, but Netflix can really offer a great reach. I was surprised to see that not just Indians, but people in other countries like the UK and Canada had it as one of their top watched films.”
Shantanu expressed surprise at the positive reception of the spy thriller, and noted that it had been compared to Alia Bhatt’s Raazi.
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When asked his opinion of this, he replied, “When the trailer was released, everyone was talking about the elements a spy story should have. I’m not sure why people review trailers – it’s the film that can be critiqued – but I guess there must be a valid reason for it. You should not make any comments on a film you have not seen yet. It might be best to watch the film before forming an opinion. Though Mission Majnu and Raazi may have some similar elements, they are very different stories.
“Mission Majnu is based on a true story of a spy with a smart mind, and it is more realistic than other spy movies which portray their protagonists as superheroes.” ,he added
Source: Google
Shantanu further said , “There are some action sequences in the film which are not as realistic, but they should still add to the thrill. If, even after watching it, some people still think it’s like Raazi, there is nothing that can be said to change their opinion.”
Shantanu Bagchi Statement on Absence of Rashmika’s Real Voice in the Film
When questioned about Rashmika Mandanna’s absence of her voice in the film, Shantanu explained why they resorted to dubbing.
He stated that Rashmika had attempted it in one of the Hindi workshops, but it was a Pakistani dialect with some Urdu nuqta, which was not acceptable since she had grown up speaking another language.
Source: Google, Mission Majnu
Consequently, they decided to dub the voice with a professional who excelled in it.
Director Shantanu said that Rashmika was not comfortable with dubbing her own voice, which is to be expected. Shantanu explained that he and the team tried to dub her voice as close to her own voice inflection as possible.
Tested 10-15 Different Voices for Dubbing
To find the right voice match, they tested 10-15 different voices in multiple rounds, ensuring that the pronunciation was accurate.
Source: Google, Mission Majnu and Raazi
Shantanu’s movie was the first Hindi feature film that Rashmika had been involved in, but her debut as an actress was in Vikas Bahl’s Goodbye.
Despite this, the director isn’t bothered. He said, “Certain things in life are beyond our control, like when a movie will be released. I don’t worry about that, I worry about how the actor will perform in my movie.
I knew Rashmika had done a great job and that the audience would recognize it, which they did. I didn’t let myself get concerned about the other film or how people would react to it.”