Neeraj Pandey was turned away from almost all production houses when he first went knocking at their doors with a script in hand. Exasperated, he decided to produce his first film, A Wednesday, in collaboration with his partner. The 2008 film has since evolved into a contemporary classic, establishing him as a master story-teller. Giridhar Jha talks to the young film-maker who is among those who have redefined Hindi cinema in the past few years. Excerpts from the interview:

Fuelled by the surge in the audiences’ demand for content-rich cinema, Bollywood has witnessed a sea change in the way films are being made in recent times. How do look at it?

I think we are extremely privileged to be in this position where the audiences are looking forward to quality content. And because this kind of content is being continuously encouraged and lapped up by them, we feel we are much more accountable to deliver good stuff. It’s a mutual give-and-take, to be precise.