'I Had Nothing To Lose': Pulkit's Battle With Cancer And Breakthrough With Maalik (FPJ Exclusive)

Director Pulkit’s latest movie Maalik released last week in theatres. The gangster drama is set in the late ’80s in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), starring RajKummar Rao. Some of the director’s previous outings have been Maroon (2017), Bose: Dead/Alive (2017), Dedh Bigha Zameen (2024), and the hard-hitting Bhakshak (2024). In a phone call interview with The Free Press Journal, he opened up about being from a lower-middle-class family and wanting to join Bollywood, how cancer changed his outlook towards life, and more. Excerpts:

Q. How did the story for Maalik sort of come about?

A. I have spent my childhood in Bihar, where I was growing up in the ’80s. I witnessed the world of crime firsthand there, and that stayed with me for a very long time. I always wanted to tell this story about gangsters, something larger than life. Eventually, when I got the chance to write a film about it, I wrote Maalik.

Q. Were you always thinking of RajKummar as the lead?

A. I was very clear that I wanted to make it with Raj because I did a series with him before called Bose: Dead/Alive (2017). And I knew that if you give something very unusual to this man, he will create something new. Plus, I’m always looking to collaborate with actors who can do much more than what is there on paper.

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Q. Prosenjit, who has been doing some interesting roles on OTT recently, is also there. Was having him pre-planned too?

A. Again, I wrote a character who is a Bengali in the film, and I wanted a senior actor to play it. Luckily, we got a chance to meet Dada, and he jumped on it and did such an amazing job. He’s a good human being; it was great fun working with him.

Q. What are your favourite Hollywood gangster films?

A. There are many! Gangs of New York, The Godfather, Scarface, to name a few.

Q. Does the story of Maalik have bits of your life in it?

A. That’s how a writer works. You can’t write something that’s not coming from your heart. If you have to connect, then you have to write something from your heart.

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Q. You come from a lower-middle-class family—was there any family opposition when you decided to join Bollywood?

A. No, my parents were very supportive. Actually, I discovered that I wanted to become a director quite late in life. In 2011, I was trying to complete graduation from Lucknow, which I never finished—I am a dropout. So, I called my father. I told him, “I’m not interested in these business studies, and I don’t think it’s meant for me. I think I really want to do something in the film line.”

But I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do because I didn’t know I could make films, as I had never been to a film school. I told him I wanted to go to Mumbai. He bought my ticket, and the next day I was in Maximum City. Then, life happened. I tried assisting people, but no one gave me a job because I didn’t have any experience or background in films. So, my share of struggles started from 2011. Eventually, I made my first film in 2016. Then I did a series in 2017. Then I got cancer in 2019. Came out of it. Made more films. And now I’ve done a film with Saif Ali Khan, produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, which shall be releasing this year.

Q. During those five years from 2011 to 2016, how did you sustain yourself?

A. Determination. That’s it. Well, there were nights when I didn’t have money to even have dinner, but I had to survive. My father kept telling me at that time, “You have nothing to lose, so don’t worry. Stay there. Try.” So if nothing happens, then we’ll see what happened because like, yeah, so..

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Q. Did cancer change you as a person?

A. I realised a lot about life while I was on chemotherapy. I realised that life is not something to be taken for granted. You have to be good to people and do good to the society. You can’t harm people because you don’t know if that person would even be there the next day or not. So life is very unpredictable. You should not take it for granted and you should really work on your relationships and values. You should grow with people and enjoy that process of growing together.