Manoj Pahwa: “I Felt As If I Won A Lottery When I Was Offered “Article 15” By Anubhav Sinha”

Manoj Pahwa is undoubtedly one of the finest character actors to have made his presence felt on celluloid. He can play any character with unbelievable ease. Be it a happy-go-lucky role or an intense one, he can pull everything off with utmost precision.

The talented actor is currently in news for his exceptional performance in filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s latest offering, Article 15. In the film, Manoj Pahwa is seen in the role of a corrupt cop called Bhramadatt. Critics have showered praises on the actor for playing the role to the tee.

Buoyed up by the terrific response Article 15 has been receiving ever since its release, Manoj Pahwa tells STARBIZ, “2-3 years ago, no one would have even thought that a film could be made on such a topic. But I thank the young generation for changing their viewpoint and accepting such films, giving approval to them and watching them in theatres. They are rejecting run-of-the-mill ideas. They basically want good content. That is a very good thing. You look at past 2-3 years and you will find that films with fresh ideas have worked irrespective of their budget. Even big stars’ films are not doing that well if the content is missing.”

When asked about his reaction upon being approached for the character of Bhramadatt in Article 15, Manoj Pahwa excitedly says, “I felt as if I won a lottery when I was offered the role. See, I have been working in the industry for so many years now. I had been typecast in a certain image. I do not blame it on anybody. People want to play safe. When there is a happy-go-lucky role of a friend, they say, 'Let’s take Manoj Pahwa'. What can an actor do in such a scenario? He has a family to run, so he cannot be choosy. He will have to accept what is coming his way. He cannot say, 'Oh, I have already done this type of character, so I won’t work again until I get a different role'. So, when a script like Article 15 comes, it is His blessings! I was very excited to be a part of the film. Before Article 15, I did Mulk (2018) with Anubhav Sinha. I jumped at this role when he came to me".

Manoj Pahwa admits that he did not know much about Article 15 of our constitution before. “I did not know much about Article 15 before. So, when Anubhav Sinha offered this film to me, I tried to understand more about the topic from him. He told me about Article 15 which is about equality. It prohibits discrimination on grounds only of caste, religion, sex, race, and place of birth. We all know how much casteism is prevalent in our society. Though most of us are born and brought in cities, when we go to our ancestors’ places, we do come across such incidents at one point or the other in our lives. Anubhav Sinha also suggested some books which he was also reading for his research. I read all those books and tried to understand things in detail.”