Sector 36, a call-to-conscience cautionary tale that draws inspiration from the terrifying real-life Nithari killings case of the early 2000s, has been a consistent fixture in the Netflix Top 10 list ever since it released close to a month ago.

Starring Vikrant Massey as a serial killer and Deepak Dobriyal as a cop, the grisly and goosebump-inducing film has brought in a lot of praise for its debutant director Aditya Nimbalkar. t2 caught up with him for a chat.

What has it been like for you since the release of Sector 36?

I am happy that the film is out and it is doing well. People are really liking the performances, especially that of Vikrant (Massey) and Deepak sir (Deepak Dobriyal). Even the supporting cast has done a stellar job. And the writing is getting praised, which I am very happy about.

What made you want to make Sector 36, which, of course, is inspired by a real-life case....

The idea came from the writer, Bodhayan Roychaudhury. Maddock (Films, producer) always does its magic of finding the right scripts and bringing the right people together. As soon as I read the script, I was quite confident that I would be able to do justice to it.

This looks like an incredibly challenging film to make, especially on debut. Besides the physical logistics, this must have been a very emotional and often traumatic film to shoot. How did you navigate that?

It is true that this kind of a subject is a little bit more challenging to tackle, which, honestly, I was excited about. I had a great cast, great crew, great script. So the foundation was already there.

Vikrant is a friend from much earlier. So he and I had a great rapport. I had worked with most members of my crew from my AD (assistant director) days. The emotionally heavy aspects did bog me down but I channelised that energy to help the drama come out.

What were the most difficult parts to shoot?

Definitely the interrogation (scene, featuring Vikrant’s Prem and Deepak Dobriyal’s Ram Charan Pandey). We shot it over two nights since Vikrant also wanted a breather in between. That scene was definitely difficult.

Shooting the Ramleela chase scene had to be divided between Delhi and Bombay because when we were shooting in Delhi, it rained for three days straight and our set got destroyed. There was a gap of two months between shooting this scene in Delhi and then in Bombay. That was a challenge logistically. I am not saying the other scenes were easy, but these two were more of a challenge in terms of just getting things right.

Aditya Nimbalkar Milind Shirke

Vikrant is a superlative actor but this film casts him completely against type. Right after the sincere student of 12th Fail, it is difficult to see him playing a cannibalistic serial killer. What made you opt for him?

Not even for a single moment did I doubt that Vikrant wouldn’t be able to pull off this part. He is an old friend and I know he is a great actor. He is a chameleon and has incredible range. He works really hard. He prepped a lot with the script... we discussed every scene and every line minutely.

Sector 36 has an adults only certification. Did it ever bother you that your debut film would be seen only by select audiences?

For filmmakers like me who don’t necessarily want to tell ‘massy’ stories, the streaming platforms are a great support. This was a great script and I wanted to tell it. I didn’t really need to think of how many crores would be coming in on the first weekend. I want to tell a good story in the best way possible. The rest is not in my hands.

Kaminey to Haider, you have assisted filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj on some of his most seminal films. What have been the biggest lessons working with him which may have tangibly or intangibly made their way into your craft?

The biggest learning is his professionalism. After the release of a film on Friday, no matter whether it did well or not, he would be at work on Monday morning, raring to go on the next film.

He is blessed to have so much talent but it is because of the amount of hard work the man has put in during his whole career that he has achieved what he has. That is the biggest thing I have learned from him. Just work hard, put your head down, do the work. The benefits will come when they need to.

What has been the most fulfilling experience for you on a Vishal Bhardwaj set?

It was on Kaminey, the first film I did with him.. I joined as the 14th AD as a set PA, as a trainee (laughs). For the first four or five days, I didn’t even get to speak to (Vishal) sir.

The shoot was massive and challenging and a few people in the team left during the course of the making. From an intern, I kept getting bumped up and I would tell sir that if he wanted a runner or just an assistant for post-production work, to please hire me. I am guessing he liked the way i worked so he asked me to stick around. I did the post (production) of Kaminey and learnt a lot. From the 14th assistant, I ended up becoming an AD on his next film, which was quite a meteoric rise.

Any regrets that you didn’t start your directing career with a Vishal Bhardwaj production? I know there were at least two projects that went on the backburner...

There were more than two, there were actually four or five. I would have loved to have my first film produced by him, given music by him and, hopefully, written by him. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. But he is still my mentor, I meet him pretty regularly and we have a lot of creative discussions or we just jam on ideas. That will never change. He will still be everything to me.