Actor Omkar Das Manikpuri gets talking on his unforgettable debut in Bollywood, films and a wish list.
He bowled over the industry and the audience with his debut film, Peepli Live. And it took a long time for people to come to terms with the fact that actor Omkar Das Manikpuri and his character, Nattha, were pretty different from each other. “When I’m out on the road, people still call me Nattha and I reply. I’m so used to it — it just goes to show how special the film and the character is to them,” he states.
Omkar’s next film, director Shiv Dube’s MLA — An Inside Intruder will hit the theatres on May 25. “I play a farmer once again and the story deals with their trials and tribulations,” he informs.
Quiz him if he fears getting stereotyped and Omkar explains, “No, I don’t fear getting stereotyped when I’m playing real characters.
Also, I have worked on around eight films since Peepli Live and I play different characters. In Qasam Se Qasam Se, I sport a different look, as well. I have also danced in the film and it’s quite a task.”
Omkar looks back fondly at what Peepli Live and Aamir Khan Productions did to his career. “I’d like to work with Aamir himself some day, if given an opportunity,” he says, adding, “And, of course, there’s Amitabh Bachchan — sharing the same frame with him would be dream come true.” But till then, the actor has quite a few releases lined up — Anurag Kashyap’s Monsoon Shootout, Aalap with Raghuveer Yadav, Sabka Baap Rupaiya with Rajpal Yadav and Dharna Unlimited. With more than two decades of theatre experience, Omkar finds it hard to determine which form he’s more comfortable with. “Theatre has an instant connect with the audience and there’s a lot of time to rehearse but with films, it’s all spot on. In a way, both have their own charms,” he quips.
His family, still in Bhilai, will be joining him soon for the premiere of MLA. “I’m looking forward to their trip to Mumbai — the kids make me do all that I don’t get to do otherwise,” says Omkar. And would that include watching films, too? “Yes, the last film I saw was The Dirty Picture and yes, I forgot to add Vidya Balan’s name in my wishlist,” he signs off.
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