Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey says the awareness of shortcomings in all his movies, whether they shatter the box office or not, has helped him stay grounded.
After a string of consecutive hits such as "A Wednesday", "Special 26", "Baby" and "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story", Neeraj's last film, "Aiyaary", failed to click with the audience.
There is learning, he said, with every film and the takeaways don't depend on the numbers.
A hit didn't make me crazy, so why would a flop make me sad? In spite of all my hit films that you'd remember, all these films have tremendous shortcomings. They worked at the box office, no one talks about it but the shortcomings have stayed with me.
"Similarly when a film like 'Aiyaary' doesn't work, the shortcomings stay with me. I have to live with it, learn and try not to repeat the same mistakes," Neeraj told PTI in an interview.
The director, who has been in the film industry for over a decade, said once he is on set, he is doesn't ride on overconfidence.
"If you embrace one simple fact that you're learning on the job, you're sorted. There's no end to learning, whether it's technologically, collaborating with people or experience. I would like to believe that a reasonable amount of confidence is good. Overconfidence would be the end of it."
"These stories work for me because they're rooted in our lives. It can happen to you, me, or anyone, so there is a tremendous sense of catharsis and reliability. That gives me the impetus to tell that story. A lot of believability is inherent in these stories which drives me."