After two of her recently released shows ‘Masoom’ and ‘Miya Biwi Aur Murder’ (MBM), which have given her a chance to prove her versatility as an actress and earned her appreciation for her work, Manjari Fadnnis says that, finally, she is feeling satisfied as an artist.
Making her Bollywood debut with the film ‘Jaane Tu Yaa Jane Naa’ in 2008, the actress said that post the success of the film, she was getting typecast for the longest time and never got a real opportunity to grow with her craft.
In conversation with IANS, Manjari said, “I was facing a certain kind of typecasting by most of the casting directors. I was always offered sweet, girl-next-door characters, the girlfriend of a rich boy, etc. I am always told that I give a vibe on-screen with my smile, good looks, and so on.
“But my point was, if it is about my look, a makeup artist can change it. I am an actress so I need the chance to prove my skill. I always wanted to act as some character that is intense or quite opposite of who I am in real life. I was feeling so suffocated for the longest time.”
Though in between she kept working in Hindi, Marathi, and South Indian films, according to Manjari, it started changing in 2019 when she signed up for the web film ‘Barot House’.
She said: “That film and our director Bugs Bhargava changed the game for me and of course, I am thankful for that. But I also mentioned that it is because of OTT shows and films that actors like us are finally getting our due. Whether it is me, Pratik (Gandhi), or Amit (Sadh) who are in the industry from a young age but mostly got sidelined in mainstream Bollywood. Now things are good with us.”
While her performance in ‘Masoom’ starring Boman Irani and Samara Tijori in the lead was quite intense, her character in ‘MBM’ was just the opposite.
In MBM, which is a comedy show, she plays a housewife named Priya who does not get attention from her police officer husband and goes for a Tinder date with another guy.
A murder takes place and as bizarre as it may sound, Priya and her husband try to solve the murder, connecting the dots by taking references from the television show ‘CID’, which Priya used to watch in repeat telecasts while sitting idle at home.
Manjari said, “Yes, it was a bizarre comedy and everything about the character is crazy and it was a laugh riot. I got the script just after the first lockdown back in 2020. We all were going through a tough time then so, it was like comic relief in our real lives too, while shooting.”
‘Miya Biwi Aur Murder’ features Rushad Rana, Ashmita Bakshi, and Prasad Khandekar. It is streaming on MX Player.
