Gulmohar is a special movie for me: Manoj Bajpayee

By Nitika Kakar
Manoj Bajpayee fell in love with the script of his upcoming film Gulmohar and found it extremely relatable. The movie released on March 3 on Disney+ Hotstar.
Manoj explained why took up Gulmohar, “A very special film for me as I loved the script, everyone will find this film very relatable as there is a real connect. The characters in the film represent three generations living together, having different perceptions and opinions still trying to live harmoniously.”
Manoj said, “My father is a big fan of Smt. Sharmila Tagore, I have a very blurred memory of watching one of her films with my father and when I told him that I was going to work with Sharmila ji for Gulmohar, he was shocked and absolutely delighted.”
Manoj shared the trailer on his social media and wrote in the caption, “Meri Batra family, aapka apne parivaar ke saath swagat karti hai. (My Batra family welcomes your family).” Earlier, Manoj had shared a video, where Sharmila spoke about making a comeback to the movies. Manoj asked, “Sharmila ji, how are you feeling coming back after 12 years?” The veteran actor replied that she was feeling a little nervous. When Manoj praised her and called her ‘OG’ and ‘Legend’, Sharmila replied, “I am not a legend. In this film, I have played the role of your mother so thodi bohot acting mujhe bhi aati hai.”
In a press conference held at Le Meridian Hotel, New Delhi, Manoj Bajpayee humorously explains how he decided to be an actor. He said, “One day, when I was in the kitchen with my mom, she was making fritters and I was just fiddling around, a hot utensil slightly touched my arm and I reacted too much and that’s when my family got to know that I will become an actor when I grow up.”
Manoj Bajpayee has pulled off great performances in his acting career in movies and series for which he received numerous awards such as Stardust Award for Best Actor (Gangs of Wasseypur), National Film Award- Special Jury Award (Satya), Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor (Aligarh), National Film Award for Best Actor (Bhonsle), Screen Award for Best Villain (Aks) and many more. He was last seen in the Zee5 film, Dial 100, and also has the films Despatch and Joram.
Having worked in the Hindi film industry for more than three decades, Bajpayee is known as a “method actor” - one who inhabits the role of his character to encourage sincere expressions. He has done phenomenal job in films like Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen, Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya and Hansal Mehta’s Aligarh and has three National Film Awards to his credit. The latest, The Family Man is quite different from what he has done in his career. Bajpayee says it is for the first time that kids come up to him for autographs. “My daughter never liked the kind of films I did, but Family Man is her favourite now. I must thank God and audiences for this change.” Unlike the issue-based, serious projects that he has mainly done, The Family Man is a family entertainer.

(The writer is a Semester II student of BA (Journalism and Mass Communication) programme.)