Pinjar, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi was based on the novel of the same name by Amrita Pritam. The film won two national awards but was ignored by the mainstream award ceremonies. As the film clocked 21 years on October 24, actor Manoj Bajpayee talked to Zoom about the importance of Pinjar in his career and how it caused him some heartbreak too.
How important do you consider Pinjar in your career?
Pinjar will always be a very important film of my career. I played a very complex character . When we made the film there was a lot of positivity around it and when we released the film, the film was acclaimed so much, people have written so many pieces on it, such great articles came on it, great reviews were around. However…
Go on?
When it came to nominating the film or the performances for awards, we were completely absent in all the mainstream awards, so much so that it caused a lot of heartbreak to all the team members.
But Pinjar won National awards?
I was coming to that. When we were really down, just then, without even us knowing it, this news of the film getting two National awards, me getting Critics Choice and the film itself got the award. So it was quite a huge, huge boost to our morale and I felt that it was kind of a poetic justice.
You felt vindicated?
The film which was completely ignored by everyone in the industry and all the awards, this film has gone ahead and won two very important National film awards.
ALSO READ: Chandraprakash Dwivedi Says Manoj Bajpayee’s Pinjar Is ‘Still Part Of Discussions In Academic Circles’ After 21 Years – EXCLUSIVE
Did you read Amrita Pritam’s explosive novel before doing the Pinjar?
I read the novel when I was still in college. There were many discussions when I was doing theatre to convert Pinjar into a play, but that didn’t happen. I wanted to play Rashid all this while and suddenly there was this script handed over to the watchman of my building and when I came back from work, he handed it over to me saying that Dr. Chandra Prakash Dwivedi has come and he asked me to give it to you.
A dream come true?
I was quite beyond ecstatic. I just wanted to read the script immediately and that night itself I finished it and I was very, very sure that I was going to do this film. The memories are still very, very fresh from the shooting of making this film with all those actors and Dr. Dwivedi. It will always be a very important film in my career.