Actor Manjot Singh has been enjoying the overwhelming response that he has received for his latest film, Honey Paaji in Wild Wild Punjab. He discusses with The Pioneer about breaking his image as a comedic star and his inclination towards serious drama, among others
Tejal Sinha
Think of Manjot Singh and our minds gets bombarded with his characters: Young Lucky Singh in Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dimpy in Student of the Year, or the much-loved Lali in the Fukrey franchise.
Oye Lucky Lucky Oye brought him into a bigger picture, bringing him a Filmfare Award to his credit. It was indeed a splendid journey; little did he know that this ‘Delhi ka Ladka’ would one day wake up going for an audition and get selected for a 15-minute role in the film. Well, would you believe it if we said that, never in his dream, he had a thought of becoming an actor? However, ironically, it did become a dream-come-true moment for him.
Beyond any doubt, his humorous elements have always been something that we’ve enjoyed the most. Still and all, “It’s the situations that have been comic. The main thing about comedy is your timing and that’s something nobody can easily learn. My timing is good, so it lands automatically. In real life, I’m a serious man and I do not even know how to make people laugh. It’s the script, timing and editing that make it look funny.”
Now, with his latest, we get to see a different Manjot altogether! “People have been approaching me saying, “We see a different Manjot, unlike what we had seen previously.” To be honest, I’ve always wanted to take on a role like this one. Versatility has been introduced by the role of an authoritative person. People would have embraced me much sooner if Wild Wild Punjab had been my debut project. People’s preconceived notion of me as a ‘Funny-innocent Sardar’ has been dispelled and they now think that Manjot is capable of doing this as well,” shares the Fukrey star. “I consider it a great accomplishment that I was able to change people’s opinions about me. I’ve never played ‘Macho Sardar’ before. I’m being challenged to do more of this by the feedback I’m receiving for it. People have been saying “Manjot 2.0 ka janam hua hai” in reference to my Honey Paaji character, which is really astounding.”
He further gushes that makers do not have much time to sit and explore an actor’s versatility. Fortunately, Luv Ranjan and Simarpreet Singh, the directors of Wild Wild Punjab, saw that he would fit in the best.
“Every movie, in my opinion, has a specific fate and timing. For the first time in fifteen years, I’m getting calls from a lot of producers and industry people, just as everyone went crazy over my part in Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. I’m even being referred to as the movie’s “hero” by some individuals. My character has been an ‘alpha-male in this film.”
Unlike his previous projects, he believes that the film brought out a lot of emotions in his character. There’s a little bit of romance, comedy, seriousness and action too. Speaking of actions, he also recalls taking car drifting classes. In fact, the way the character dresses up is also how Manjot dresses up in real life. He is, in fact, a man with his principles and can kill someone or die for his loved ones. “There are a few things that I feel are relatable to many of my characters, be it in Fukrey, Dream Girl, or even Wild Wild Punjab. To be honest, in this film, I have worked very hard as compared to other projects. In real life also, just like how Honey Paaji loves his car, Paro, I take pride in maintaining my cars, both inside and out and I always try to keep them tidy and spotless. When it comes to style, even I like to be ek dum tich. You wouldn’t believe, I used to skip school on days when my uniform wasn’t clean when I was younger (he laughs).”
Speaking of the rumours of him being approached for Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal, he goes on to share, “That is indeed true. I even went to meet Sandeep Vanga and inquired about the possibility of it helping me advance in my work. But he was like, ‘There’s not going to be anything life-changing’, but he just wanted me to be in it because he thought I was a good actor. The script was altered in a few places and the role I was called in for was not really significant. However, Sandeep Sir was the one who contacted me to let me know about it. I think everything works out for the best and I’m happy Animal performed so well. While Ranbir Kapoor portrayed the alpha in that movie, I am the alpha in Wild Wild Punjab, hehe!”
Being a Cancerian, he shares that he loves romance and that there’s a lot that he can do, apart from comedy. “I would certainly learn to take action. I love serious drama. There’s a lot of drama that happens in my house too, with my dad. There’s a perception that if it is a Sardar, then it’s going to be a comedy. However, as the team experimented, I was glad I could be a part of this project. In fact, my mom saw me in this character. For the first time ever, she called me after watching my film and said she appreciated me, thanking the filmmakers too. It was so heartwarming.”
As we head towards the end of this chat, Manjot brings an exclusive revelation: ‘I was also approached for Fighter, but that didn’t really go well with me. I also got a Dharma film, but again, I wanted to wait for that ‘one’ project. Now I’ve been getting calls with roles that differ from comedy.”
