Today, on April 23. At this stage of life, the actor is immensely content as he reflects on his long journey in the film industry. On his birthday, Manoj expresses, “With advancing age, I may be getting older, but this birthday is special because I have completed thirty years in the industry this year.”
Reflecting on “Bhauji”
Manoj, who balances a disciplined life alongside his acting career, is also making space for stories from rural India in his production company. He shares, “I’ve completed nearly a hundred films. My hundredth film is ‘Bhauji,’ which is set to release on May 24.”
Birthdays and Family Traditions
Discussing the most beautiful gift on his birthday, Manoj reveals, “In our family, there’s a tradition that whoever’s birthday it is, the rest of us make cards for them by hand and write down our thoughts. I’ve kept all the cards.”
He further shares, “Spending time with family feels good. We try to celebrate each other’s birthdays together.”
Story of “Bhauji”
Having produced films like “Bhonsle” and “Missing,” Manoj’s upcoming film “Bhauji” is set to depict the culture of rural India. He says, “‘Bhauji’ is an action film with emotional depth. I play the lead role in the film. Audiences will get to see the culture of villages in the film. The director of the film, Apurv Singh Karki, hails from the mountains himself. He wants to tell the story of small-town villages, just like I said in ‘Just One Man is Enough’. We’ve narrated enough stories of cities; now it’s time to give importance to villages, where we come from.”
From Acting to Anchoring
Aside from acting in films, Manoj also ventures into anchoring. Recently, he appeared as a narrator in the documentary series “Secrets of the Buddha Relics” on Discovery Plus. He says, “Our achievement is that we didn’t present the documentary series as boring documentaries. I’ve tried to tell the stories of all three shows differently. During my time on stage, I’ve worked a lot on my voice and speaking style. Whenever I get the chance, I still do it.”
Desire to Play a Photojournalist
Looking ahead, Manoj expresses his desire to portray the role of a photojournalist. He says with a smile, “I want to play the role of a photojournalist. They often scold, ‘Look left, look right, look straight.’ We keep scolding them every day. I would like to play one of them. There’s a good story to be written about this – knowing where they come from, how they’ll go back, whether they’ll get to sleep or not, who’s waiting for them at home, what their constraints and needs are, the people standing on the street waiting. A good story can be written about this.”