Facts over fiction

Manoj Bajpayee

In the past few years, there has been a shift in viewers' attitude towards documentaries. What was earlier deemed boring, has now captured the attention of a considerable audience base. That explains why filmmaker Neeraj Pandey, the mind behind films like Special 26 (2013) and Baby (2015), has begun experimenting with documentaries.

Pandey and Bhatia

With his creative partner Shital Bhatia, Pandey not only revisited the Indian cricket team's 2020-21 Test series win over Australia through Bandon Mein Tha Dum (2021), but also created the documentary franchise, Secrets. Bhatia says, "Documentaries in their current form have got a great future. We are planning to take the Secrets franchise forward. The team at Discovery and I were keen to work together. They came up with the research of chariots found in Sinauli. We were intrigued, and pursued the subject. When the franchise's [first instalment] did well, the [OTT platform] suggested we make a franchise."

The three instalments - Secrets of Sinauli, Secrets of the Koh-i-noor, and Secrets of the Buddha Relics - were anchored by Manoj Bajpayee. Admitting that the actor's presence aided the storytelling, Bhatia adds, "Manoj was our first choice. We needed someone who could convey the story and emotions without being over-dramatic."