Nagraj Manjule on life after Sairat, that facilitated a Bollywood debut with Amitabh Bachchan and why he is not too keen on moving to Mumbai
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 30, 2017)

Nagraj Manjule is a man of few words. Praise makes him awkward, often evoking an instinctive “aree baap re”, while queries about switching from being a National Award-winning filmmaker to an actor are met with a terse, “I don’t think too much about it.” The one thing that manages to coax out a semblance of emotion from his voice is the mention of his Marathi runaway hit Sairat’s Hindi remake, which is being produced by Karan Johar. “I have no expectations from the film, only best wishes for the team”. Is it because the Telugu and Punjabi remakes didn’t fare well at the box-office? “I wouldn’t know why but it would be interesting to conduct a research on why films that do well in one language cannot get the same results in others,” he says.

He is, however, genuinely excited about his Bollywood debut with a social-drama featuring Amitabh Bachchan in the role that is fashioned after a retired sports teacher who starts a slum soccer movement. The film touches upon the issues of drug-abuse and crime and will portray how a sport can help reform kids on the path of antisocial activities. “I started working on the script after Sairat was complete. Even though it is based on a real-life character, the way I’ve written the part and the film, it moves far away from the source,” Nagraj, a self-proclaimed fan of his leading man, clarifies. “I grew up copying his clothes, speech and mannerisms. I’d go to school with my shirt tied like Bachchan saab in Deewar and get severely reprimanded by teachers. But the punishment had no effect on me. I’d still do it,” he laughs.

Furthermore, he confesses that he is fluent in Marathi but speaks only “theek-thaak” Hindi and can’t “do angrezi” to save his life. “But if you ask me to direct a film in English, I’ll definitely do it because a film is a language in itself that I speak best. If a man wants to dance, he’ll dance on a Marathi, Hindi or English song with equal enthusiasm,” he explains.

The 40-year-old filmmaker is aware that the success of Sairat facilitated casting for a lavishly-mounted project, even though he’d won a National Award (for Fandry) before that. “The fame and fandom feel really different. Too many people seem to claim to know me and want to meet me. It’s become difficult to step out of my Pune home and roam around the city like I used to. But yes, casting, producing have become easier,” he says.

Nagraj gets more animated as the conversation shifts to his acting gig for the upcoming The Silence, directed by National award-winning filmmaker Gajendra Ahire. Based on a true story, the film tackles sexual assault inflicted by family members and its aftermath, tracing the recurring question of responsibility and silence and also marks the Marathi debut of National Award-winning actress Anjali Patil. “I found it extremely powerful. It also gave me an opportunity to work with some fantastic actors like Anjali and Raghubir Yadav,” Nagraj says, adding that he is grateful that he was free at the time the acting offer came along as he felt invested in the story. “I get lots of offers and I love facing the camera but acting doesn’t give me a lot of money nor does it give me the satisfaction that direction does,” he adds.

Next up, he will soon begin writing his next Marathi film, which he will direct after the Hindi debut. Point out that everything seems to be falling into place for him and Nagraj recalls how he grew up in an unheard-of village called Jeur in rural Maharashtra with dreams of doing different things. “Ninety per cent of those dreams never turned into reality and almost all my plans failed. So I decided that I shouldn’t worry too much about the future. Now, I make small films and try to wrap up whatever work comes my way to the best of my abilities. I don’t want to move to Mumbai or be a part of Bollywood’s inner circle. I will forever be the outsider because, in every way I can think of, I truly am,” he signs off.