Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; February 25, 2016)

After earning accolades for his act in Devashish Makhija’s nine-minute short Taandav, Manoj Bajpayee is collaborating with the budding director for a full-length feature film under his own banner. While the project titled Bhonsle was supposed to roll next month, shooting plans have been aborted with the producers walking out of it at the last minute.

Says a source, “Manoj’s next film is with Makhija and it has an exciting story. However, the funders suddenly pulled out of it. It came as a surprise since their short film, which released earlier this month, has received rave reviews.” Taandav was centered around a police constable who finds himself torn between righteousness and temptations that dishonesty has to offer. In Bhonsle too, Manoj’s character is a retired cop, we hear.

Makhija remained unavailable for comment while a source close to the actor confirms the story, saying, “It’s an interesting script and deserves to be made. Manoj is personally trying to get producers on board since he wants to take the film on floors as soon as possible.”