Piyush Pandey: 'Part Time Job' is just the beginning

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Presenting someone else’s life in front of an audience in the most authentic yet sensitive way is a difficult feat to achieve. Piyush Pandey who wears several caps including a journalist, a writer, an author and a filmmaker, has achieved to create the balance in his recent book. ‘Kuch Pane Ki Zidd’ which traces the journey of celebrated actor Manoj Bajpayee has been receiving immense accolades for beautifully laying out the struggles, success and life of the talented artist. Speaking to First India, the author revealed more details about his book, his passion for filmmaking, his upcoming projects and more. Talking about the love and appreciation he is receiving for the biography, Piyush said, “I never thought it would get so much love. The journey of Manoj Bajpayee’s struggle is very fascinating. I think people feel very connected. I got a lot of calls and messages that mentioned they got motivation after reading the book. So, I feel that my attempt could be deemed successful.” Tracing how he ended up writing Manoj Bajpayee’s biography, he revealed, “I knew Manoj ji for a long time. I had created a blogging platform on which Manoj ji used to write. I know him personally. In 2020, it just popped into my head that his biography would be very interesting. I called and asked for his permission. He immediately said, ‘Aap karo kaam, main help karta hu aapki’. So, I met his parents, sisters and close aides with his help. Then I met his friends and colleagues including Piyush Mishra, Anurag Kashyap and Mahesh Bhatt on my own.” Divulging more about his passion for filmmaking, he mentioned that it has been his passion since a young age. “I used to live in a small town and then I went into journalism. So, I couldn’t get time to explore the field. I once thought while writing the script of a movie that I should make a short film, professionally. So, I directed the film and it is called ‘Part Time Job’. Shreya Narayan and Hemant Mahaur are a part of the film with the main protagonist being a child, who is played by Pravar Pandey. We have sent it to several festivals and are awaiting the response. I also have a feature film ahead, this is just the beginning.” With a passion for satire writing, the author-cum-journalist-cum-filmmaker has written three books in that genre. But he said that even though many find satire a difficult genre, for him, writing a biography was much more difficult. “I have been writing satire for the longest time, so it comes naturally to me. But with the biography, I was writing someone else’s story. I had to research his story that was not put in front of the audience. To make it entertaining, I wrote it as fiction. Piyush Mishra complimented me and even Manoj ji himself loved the book. Those were the most precious compliments I got.”