Cinema can be mirror of our times, can't start movements: Manoj Bajpayee

Cinema alone can't bring about a revolution, says actor Manoj Bajpayee, who described the art form as a tool to kickstart movements.

The actor reflected on the role of films in society at the trailer launch of his upcoming ZEE5 Global film Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout on Tuesday night.

“Cinema can be a mirror of our time. Cinema can't start movements. It can be part of the movement. Cinema can't do anything alone. Every ruler has used cinema or art in their own way," Bajpayee told reporters in Mumbai.

Citing the example of Amitabh Bachchan's angry young man persona in the 1970s movies, the National Award winner said it emerged at a time when the country's youth was struggling with unemployment and hopelessness.

"They saw themselves in Amitabh Bachchan and watching those films helped them vent out (their emotions) ... Similarly, when the time of romanticism came, there were Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan,” he added.

The event was also attended by cast members Prachi Desai, Parul Gulati, Sahil Vaid, Dinker Sharma, producer Kiran Deohans, director Aban Bharucha Deohans, and ZEE5 Global business head Manish Kalra.

Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout will see Bajpayee reprise his role of ACP Avinash Verma, alongside Desai, who is coming back as Inspector Sanjana.

“Whenever you do the second installment you have to revisit the old season as you grow as a person and actor. But there are some basic elements that you have done you should not leave that as it is the crux of the character. (I) Try to remind myself what I have done and what I should do now,” Bajpayee said about starring in the follow-up of the 2021 film.

Bharucha Deohans, who also directed Silence…Can You Hear It in his debut, credited the actors for making her job easy.

“There was so much camaraderie (among actors). That made my job easier for the second installment. It was a more difficult film because it had more layers and complex characters,” the filmmaker said.

Desai, known for Rock On! and Kasamh Se, described herself as a person who embraces silence.

"I am comfortable with my silence now. There are kinds of silences you experience in life... Once you start doing what you want to do and what is true to you, that's when you are fine with it. And then, you see me lots more on screen, somewhere I am getting that right,” she added.

Gulati of Girl Hostel fame is excited to join the ensemble star cast of the film.

“I am very excited (to debut with Manoj Bajpayee). I have been around for 12 years now. Everybody thinks I would have done a Hindi film. But it is my first film and that too with the greatest cast. It has been a legacy which has carried forward from Silence."

Produced by Zee Studios and Candid Creations, Silence 2: Night Owl bar shootout will premiere on April 16 on ZEE5 Global.