Would often doubt myself but had fun playing a cop: Nagraj Manjule on ‘Ghar Banduk Biryani’

New Delhi, June 2 (PTI) “Sairat” filmmaker Nagraj Manjule has swapped the director’s chair to play a righteous cop in Marathi film “Ghar Banduk Biryani”, an experience that he says he enjoyed to the fullest despite initial jitters.

Manjule has often done cameos in his movies but it was for the first time that he had to play a full-fledged role thanks to the film’s director Hemant Jangal Awtade.

“Ghar Banduk Biryani” also features veteran Marathi cinema star Sayaji Shinde and “Sairat” actor Akash Thosar.

“I generally take up small roles in my movies. I like acting but I love direction more and I feel I can do better as a director. I am not sure how I am as an actor. This was the first time that I played the role of a cop,” Manjule told PTI in an interview.

“I would often doubt myself but Akash and others in the team would convince me. He would say, ‘Tu thik kar raha hai’ (you are doing great). In Sairat’, I just had a small role and appeared in one song but here we had more interaction. I also loved collaborating with Sayaji Shinde ji. He is one of the finest actors in India. So, I gained some confidence by working with these actors,” he added.

The story of “Ghar Banduk Biryani” is set in the fictional town of Kolagad, an insurgency-affected area under Commander Pallam (Shinde). Thosar’s Raju from the nearby village wants to get married but the bride-to-be’s father wants him to own a house first. In Pune, a cop (Manjule) lands in trouble for being sincere and is transferred to Kolagad.

The “Jhund” filmmaker, who has co-produced the film with Zee Studios and also serves as a creative director, said he tried to help Awtade without interfering.

“I am usually surrender to ‘the director’s vision’ kind of person, but here, I had to assist Hemant as the producer and creative director. You have to support the vision of the director without interfering. Every director has a different vision,” he said.

The action-comedy, which released in April to positive reviews and earned over Rs 5 crore at the box office to become the third highest grossing Marathi movie of 2023, is currently streaming on ZEE5 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions.