Manoj Bajpayee Discusses ‘Despatch’ and His Experience with Kanu Behl

MUMBAI: National Award-winning actor Manoj Bajpayee has talked about working with filmmaker Kanu Behl, known for making movies such as “Titli” and also about his film “Despatch”, which was played at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

In “Despatch,” Bajpayee plays Joy, a seasoned crime editor at a Mumbai tabloid who becomes entangled in a dangerous investigation while struggling to maintain his relevance in the digital age.

“Though it’s undercurrent is of a thriller, the way (Behl_ has treated it is quite fascinating,” Manoj said, reports variety.com.

He added: “People are finding the whole approach of not really flowing with the events and focusing rather on those events actually inside the human being, inside that character, and in the darkness of his own personality, which is far scarier than the events which are unfolding.”

The film is about his character Joy, who pursues a story involving organised crime, political corruption and corporate takeovers, his professional ambitions collide with his complex personal life, leading to dangerous consequences.

Manoj was attracted to the script and wanted to work with Behl, despite the warnings about his reputation as a challenging director.

“Once I knew that the script was good, I wanted to just collaborate because everybody scared me about Kanu Behl.. that he is, is a very difficult director.”

“He can actually break you… and the more people told me about the stories from the set, the more determined I became to work in this film because I really wanted to experience his approach, experience, how he is having this reputation. Is it true? Or is he taking you on some kind of a journey which is going to be far more worthwhile as an actor and as a human being,” said the actor.

Recalling an intense scene involving Manoj’s character beating up another actor in a police station. After multiple takes, the co-actor began bleeding from his nose, the actor stormed off set.

When Behl followed him to his van, rather than offering comfort, the director challenged Manoj’s assertion that it was “just a film.”

“We are not making just a film. We are making a great film,” Behl told him, according to Manoj.

The actor added: “He introduces that aspect of your humanity and your actor to you yourself.”

For his role as a journalist, Bajpayee drew from his connections in the field, reports variety.com

“I have many very close friends who are investigative journalists from Delhi and from Mumbai, people who I have been meeting for many years to really understand the nature of their job, the conflict and the dichotomy that they live with,” he said.