Manoj Bajpayee reveals at Joram’s screening at Jio MAMI that he doesn’t take time to get out his characters: “That is a luxury I’ve never had. We live in India. Kaam mila hai toh karo”

By Fenil Seta -

November 4, 2023 - 11:37 AM IST

Devashish Makhija’s Joram has been in the news after Bollywood Hungama revealed that it will get a release next month. Then it further got a boost, thanks to its successful screening at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023. The lead actor of the film Manoj Bajpayee interacted with the audience after the screening. He gave an interesting answer to the question asked by an attendee as to how he preps for his role and how he comes out of it.

Manoj Bajpayee reveals at Joram’s screening at Jio MAMI that he doesn’t take time to get out his characters: “That is a luxury I’ve never had. We live in India. Kaam mila hai toh karo”

Manoj Bajpayee began by saying, “I am going to disappoint you with my answer (smiles). It’s not an intellectual thing. I come from a village. My journey has been very, very long. I have met several people. Such has been my journey that I don’t need to go to jhopadpatti to play a jhopadpatti guy!”

He continued, “There are so many experiences which are stored here (points to his brain) in the hard drive. Whenever it is needed, they come handy to me. Since I have lived in a village, I have seen several Scheduled Castes people co-existing and they were a part of our lives too. I didn’t have to visit Jharkhand. I had to simply refresh my memories from my childhood. That’s how my character Dasru came alive to me. I felt like I had seen him before. I just had to construct him for this film.”

Manoj Bajpayee then said, “As to how I come out of it, well, I jump to my next film (laughs). Nowadays directors like Devashish Makhija are very, very demanding. They just want to suck you in. And they want you to forget everything and take a plunge into their world. I try to be a sincere listener to my directors. I try to abide by the rules and terms they lay out in front of me. Its in my DNA that I don’t get nostalgic about my films. You’d rarely hear me talking about my previous film with him, Bhonsle (2020). It’s done and gone. The challenge is afresh with Joram. I have to give it my all. I had to lose weight. You’ll be surprised to know that just before Joram, I was one of the richest men of Delhi in Gulmohar (2023)! All of us actors are like that. We find our ways to approach our characters. And when we don’t work, we try to relax and get back to reading, spending time with family, etc.”

Manoj Bajpayee added, “I have heard several actors take a lot of time to come out of their characters. That doesn’t happen with me. That is a luxury I’ve never had. Also, we live in a country like India. Kaam mila hai toh karo!” As expected, it led to laughter.

The team announced during the Q-and-A session that Zee Studios will release Joram in cinemas on December 8, 2023.

Also Read: Manoj Bajpayee on Joram: “It’s a very special film”