Can Prem become the next most-hated Bollywood villain? Sector 36 director reflects in Interview

Sector 36 director Aditya Nimbalkar knew he had a difficult task at hand with the film. It could go wrong easily since the film was inspired by real events and depicted evil in its worst form. Sector 36 is about a servant and a rich businessman who indulge in barbaric crimes of drugging, killing, raping, organ trading and sometimes consuming children. As graphic as it gets, the psychologically disturbing film is extremely multi-layered with career-great performances from Vikrant Massey and Deepak Dobriyal who engage in a cat-and-mouse chase till Prem (Vikrant) gets caught and lays out everything he did unabashedly and with no shame or guilt.

Sector 36 director Aditya Nimbalkar spoke about the vision he had for ‘Prem’ who has the potential of becoming a beloved Bollywood villain (only that he was too gruesome to be loved even if for a negative emotion), working with fine actors like Vikrant and Deepak, the vibe on the set of such a chilling film and his chemistry with ace filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj.

Here are the edited excerpts of our chat:

Q: Sector 36 is an amazing film. It truly transports you to the time when we were hearing those horrifying stories about the real crime that happened many years ago. The film has a lingering effect. Did you expect your directorial debut to hit such a nerve with the audience?

A: I was hoping it would hit that nerve and have a lingering effect because that means I have done my job decently well.

Vikrant Massey's transformation as Prem in Sector 36

Q: First 12th Fail and now Sector 36. Vikrant Massey is on a high with great performances. His turnaround as Prem has been a surprise in many ways. But how did you know that he would be perfect as Prem?

A: Honestly, I didn't have a single drop of doubt that he would be great as Prem. He knew the script before I did. Him and I know each other socially for years. We have been friends. So when I spoke to him, I had no doubt that he'd do it well. I think he took it up as a challenge because he's never done something like this. As a director I knew he’s a very competent and hardworking actor. So I knew he would put in 200%.

Q: What was thebrief you had for him?

A: A lot of the nuances were also there in the script then when Vikrant and I worked on it, we added some more layers to it, in terms of performance. We just broke down what we do in any film. We broke down the script, like the small mannerisms – how he fixes his hair in the interrogation scene or his body language in general.

When he's in the house, in his own territory, he roams around in shorts but when he's with other people, especially when there's a cop around or something, he's a little neat. Then when he snaps, he changes quickly. The laughter was something we worked on. We tried various options like snickering.

Vikrant is that kind of actor and I'm that type of director that we don't leave a lot for on-set improvisation. We do work on it a lot and we prep quite a lot on every scene and talk about every scene.

Q: Even though we know that this is purely inspired from real-life events, do you think Prem could become one of those iconic villains that Bollywood has produced?

A: Oh man, if it does become that, I'd love it. Villains are some of my favourite characters from Mogambo to Shakaal. If he becomes that down the line, that would be great but a part of me feels that maybe because it's based on a true event, I wish such people didn't exist in the world. But they do, unfortunately. So yeah, it's a little mixed emotion that if people like this kind of a “villain”. But for me as a director and Vikrant as an actor, it would be great.

Q: We also can’t not talk about Deepak Dopriyal who was a huge surprise in that role.

A: Deepak sir, as you said, he's known for his comedy acting but I've seen some of his dramatic work and he's a brilliant dramatic actor. For him too, I was sure he’d kill it in this role. I hope he does more work in drama and not just restrict himself to comedy.

Q: Aditya, what’s something you love about the film?

A: From within the film, of course, the interrogation scene is great. The chase is something I really loved shooting. Just the visual of Deepak running in that Ravan get-up will not get out of your head when you see the movie.

Q: What was the vibe on your set like and where was this film shot?

A: Primarily Delhi, outskirts of Delhi and a few days in Mumbai.

As for the vibe, it was all very serious. We knew what kind of film we were making. Therefore, everyone was quiet. There was no major joking around and that kind of thing but we also love our work so it wasn’t like we were depressed at work.

Sector 36 director Aditya'schemistry with Vishal Bhardwaj

Q: Sector 36 has been receiving a lot of love. You, for one, got a thumbs-up from Vishal Bhardwaj. What is your equation with him like?

A: Vishal sir is my mentor. I joined him as an indie on Kaminey back in 2009. I have worked with him for more than 10-11 years. Even though I don't professionally work with him, I meet him every few months. We chat, we talk about life. I have learnt most of my filmmaking from him. He means the world to me. He's almost my second father in a way or an elder brother in that sense.

Q: Did you ever think of an alternate ending for your film?

No, this had to be the ending because some stories are tragedies. Popular cinema has given us the wrong idea, that all will be great at the end of the day. Sometimes, it doesn’t end well. Not everyone's life is great. Like the victims of this case or any crime. It's unfortunate but that's the way the world is. Shakespeare's best work is a tragedy. Sector 36 is a tragic story. I couldn’t have given it a happy ending.

Watch the trailer of Sector 36 here:

Sector 36 released on Netflix on September 13.