This Article is From Jun 30, 2015

The Actors Who Were Supposed to be in Masaan But Weren't

The Actors Who Were Supposed to be in Masaan But Weren't

Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao photographed in Mumbai.

Mumbai: Director Neeraj Ghaywan said that he wanted to cast actors Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao in his film Masaan, but things did not work out.

Masaan stars Richa Chadha, newcomers Vicky Kaushal, Shweta Tripathi (of Kya Mast Hai Life fame) and veteran actor Sanjay Mishra among others.

"While writing the script, I already had Richa in my mind. After Richa, I wanted to cast Shweta Tripathi. and then Sanjay Mishraji came in. Actually, Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao were supposed to be there in the film, but dates did not work out. (But) I am happy with the casting," Neeraj told PTI in an interview.

In Masaan, four lives in Varanasi intersect - a lower-caste boy hopelessly in love, a daughter ridden with guilt of a sexual encounter ending in a tragedy, a father with a fading morality, and a spirited child yearning for a family. All of them long to escape the moralistic small-town to which they are confined.

A friend of Neeraj told him about the ghats of Varanasi where dead bodies are burnt as per Hindu rites and this formed the genesis of the film. "I was intrigued about how a man who has spent his entire life burning dead bodies would appreciate the meaning of life," Neeraj said.

"Every film goes through trouble. It was difficult to make this film on a tight budget, in real locations. We worked as a team. Every step there was some difficulty but we sailed through. We had a strategy that if we make it through film festivals, we will take the buzz and then release it soon after," he added.

Masaan took a trip to Cannes Film Festival this year and won two prizes and received a five-minute long standing ovation.

"I was happier for India than our film, as we were winning the award after 26 years. It feels unreal. It is great that we have won award for our country," Neeraj said.

However Neeraj also said that the flip side of releasing a movie at film festivals is that they are seen as 'arty'.

"We are promoting this film like a normal one and not like a small Indie film or art or festival film. Through marketing, we are saying it is a normal Hindi film. We are trying to go through word-of-mouth way," he said.
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