Nobody is going to go and see 'Naam Shabana' because of fancy words, says Neeraj Pandey!

His upcoming Bollywood production "Naam Shabana" has been promoted widely as a "spin-off" of his engaging and gripping 2015 directorial "Baby". But filmmaker Neeraj Pandey firmly believes such "fancy words" don't translate to impressive footfalls if content lacks quality.

"If it's a good film, with a good script and performances, and it's executed well, everything works. It's not about whether a spin-off will work or not, or a sequel will work or not. Most importantly, it is whether a film will work or not," Pandey said.

"Nobody is going to go and see 'Naam Shabana' because of fancy words... Audiences make up their minds with the trailer, the cast, and how it looks, and the product has to fall in line as a good film," added the taciturn writer-filmmaker.

"Baby", with an ensemble cast of such reputed actors as Akshay Kumar, Danny Denzongpa, Rana Daggubati, Kay Kay Menon and Sushant Singh, and a dash of girl power with Taapsee Pannu's presence, told a compelling tale of a counter-intelligence unit out to disrupt a terrorist mastermind ready to strike India.

Taking a leaf out of the movie, "Naam Shabana" looks into the back story of Taapsee's Shabana. And if the trailer is anything to go by, the actress who has come into her own with "Pink" has upped the ante as far as heroines playing the hero on screen in Hindi films is concerned.

"She is really good in the movie," told Pandey, who rarely blows his own trumpet despite having a repertoire of films like "A Wednesday", "Special 26", "Baby" and "M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story".

Women are the best spies in the world, says Akshay Kumar!

Evergreen actor Akshay Kumar is one of the busiest actors in Bollywood with over 4 movies (Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Naam Shabana, Padman, 2.0 and Mogul) in his kitty right now. 

Lately, the actor while addressing a press conference in the national capital was all admirations for women. As per to a famous news agency, Akshay while lauding their capability of being a better detective told, "According to international agencies like the CIA or Mossad, women are the best spies in the world. You can even ask any husband and no, this is not a joke, it is a fact." Well, we appreciate your sense of humour, Akshay!

Akshay further added that women are blessed with this (of spying) extra capability. "We men are very good with gadgets. But women have an inbuilt antenna in them. Taapsee (Pannu) has it too. I don't know how they do it, but they find out things in a snap. It is the best-kept secret," Akshay was quoted saying.

Akshay will be seen doing a cameo in Naam Shabana which is a spin-off of Neeraj Pandey's Baby. The movie also stars Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher in pivotal roles and is slated to hit the theatres on March 31, 2017. 

Speaking about the movie, Akshay told that this is a one-of-a-kind movie as for the first time the viewers will know the making of a spy. 

Akshay lately started shooting for Wife Twinkle Khanna's maiden production Padman in Madhya Pradesh. Featuring Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte in lead roles, the movie is scheduled to release later this year.