BOLLYWOOD actor Manoj Bajpayee unveiled the first look of his forthcoming film, Bhonsle, a political drama, at the Cannes film festival, six years after he was seen in Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur.
The film, which looks at the vulnerability of north Indian migrants in Mumbai, is directed by Devashish Makhija.
“It is pointless choosing a film of the kind one has done before, especially in the independent cinema space. There is absolutely no challenge in it,” Bajpayee said.
It took longer than four years for the film to get made as the politically sensitive theme of its plot “scared away prospective producers when we went around pitching the idea in the industry”, the actor said.
Eventually several individual producers contributed to the project so as to minimise the risk. “The team that eventually emerged is of people who believe in the film completely,” said Bajpayee, who has frequently lent his weight as a star to adventurous movie projects.
He said Cannes provided a “great platform from where we can let the world know about the film”.
Bajpayee, who played key roles in recent Hindi films such as Aiyaary and Baaghi 2, has recently wrapped up the shoot of the John Abraham-starrer Satyameva Jayate.
Since his critically acclaimed performance in Satya, the actor has become known for his penchant for complex, conflicted characters in independent cinema.
His recent art-house roles have seen him don the guise of a gay university professor immersed in his own world of poetry, the singer Lata Mangeshkar, and two pegs of whisky a day (Aligarh); as an Old Delhi man with a tormented childhood (Gali Guliyan); and a father-husband who feels that he has failed his family (Rukh).
“These were demanding yet rewarding roles that called for a great deal of preparation, introspection and questioning. Each helped the actor in me get in touch with newer facets of the craft,” Bajpayee said.
Kulsuma Aktergetty images