Actor Manoj Bajpayee recently opened up on the controversy over the title of his upcoming film Ghooskhor Pandat and said that it affected the film’s entire team for some time and he himself too faced a lot of threats.
The 57-year-old actor said the team promptly responded to the uproar over the title, which was dubbed casteist by many on social media. A new title of the film is yet to be announced.
"We didn't expect it. But when it happened, in two days time we put out our apology. If anything is offending anyone with that much of intensity, we as creative people are always there to mend our ways or correct ourselves,” he told PTI in an interview.
"I personally feel that the title change is not going to be such a huge thing, we are creative people, we can come up with ten different titles and they will be equally exciting," he added.
The crime thriller film, directed by Ritesh Shah and produced by filmmaker Neeraj Pandey, was announced by streaming service Netflix in February this year.
The film's title sparked a storm on social media, with many users, politicians and organisations terming it "casteist and offensive". The controversy also led to the registration of FIRs and a notice to Information and Broadcasting ministry from the National Human Rights Commission.
The matter had also reached the Supreme Court, where the makers informed that the title would be changed. "Were we affected? For some time. Till the time we did put out our post, we were assessing the situation without getting affected too much mentally," he said.
"But I must tell you that when the threats were coming to me, I was also travelling continuously without any fear. When people are trolling you, abusing you and getting your family into the whole thing, I feel empathy for them," he added.
Manoj criticised the tendency of social media users to form opinions without understanding the actual plot or context of the film.
"The film talks about something else. But I think on social media now people are impatient and they are eager and desperate to come out with their opinion without even knowing fully about the subject matter,” he said.
Manoj said he prefers to ignore such reactions and does not believe in responding to people who are quick to draw conclusions.
"I'm a person who is very curious for knowledge, I'm a well-educated person, and I don't have any intention, I don't have that energy and time to argue with people, who are that impatient with their opinion or who are not even bothering to educate themselves,” he said.
"So, why to argue with them? Don't get into the mud with the people who like to roll you into the mud,” he concluded.
Manoj is currently awaiting the release of his new film Governor: The Silent Saviour.
Directed by Chinmay Mandlekar and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film will make its debut in theatres on June 12.
