Manoj Bajpayee reveals how ‘Tandav’, ‘Bhonsle’ and ‘Joram’ became a creative trilogy

Manoj Bajpayee has reflected on his long-standing collaboration with filmmaker Devashish Makhija, revealing how funding challenges led to ‘Tandav’, while ‘Bhonsle’ and ‘Joram’ evolved into some of the most critically acclaimed projects of his career.

Mumbai: The 3-time National Award-winning actor Manoj Bajpayee has spoken up on the connection between ‘Bhonsle’, ‘Tandav’ and ‘Joram’.

The actor spoke with IANS during the promotions of his upcoming film ‘Governor’, in which he essays the titular role of an RBI Governor.

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During the conversation, he was probed about how he and filmmaker Devashish Makhija put together ‘Bhonsle’.

Talking about the same, he shared, “Devashish Makhija made his foray into the cinema Before that, I don’t think they were on a cinema camera. He made ‘Tandav’ with me. It became very successful on YouTube. And it has gotten so many international laurels. Before ‘Tandav’, we were supposed to do another film, Devashish Makhija wrote it. However, we didn’t get funding for it. I was busy arranging the funds because Devashish Makhija is not somebody who is resourceful. I was the one who was already popular, and working in the industry”.

“But still, I was finally able to get funds for ‘Bhonsle’. It took time for him to make it. So, I told him, let’s make a short film. He said, give me two days. After two days, he came with the script for ‘Tandav’. And then we started moving. We had 30-35 lacs. So we made a film. When we started making money, that’s when ‘Bhonsle’ was made. Until ‘Bhonsle’ was made, he told me a story about ‘Joram’. We did Joram later. Shahrukh Patel was the CEO of Zee Studios. I told him about it. He said, ‘We are ready to do the film’. It’s one of my best performances. Yes, it has troubled me. It has tested me. I have lost my feet. The amount of shooting I had, It was so immersive. But I am so proud of that performance”, he added.

While ‘Tandav’ became a rage on YouTube, and his dance moves, ‘Bhonsle’ fetched him the National Award for Best Performance by an Actor.

‘Governor’ is presented by Sunshine Pictures, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Chinmay Mandlekar. It is co-produced by Aashin A. Shah and written by Suvendu Bhattacharyjee, Saurabh Bharat, Ravi Asrani, and Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film is set to release on June 12, 2026.