Manoj Bajpayee said he personally tried to arrange finances for Bhonsle film, as filmmaker Devashish Makhija was still a struggling filmmaker at the time.
Published: June 7, 2026, 1:23 PM IST
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Manoj Bajpayee reveals having financial difficulties making Bhonsle, Tandav and Joram: ‘Didn’t get funding’
Actor Manoj Bajpayee recently opened up about his long association with filmmaker Devashish Makhija and how their collaboration eventually led to films like Bhonsle, Tandav, and Joram. Speaking during the promotions of his upcoming film Governor, Manoj recalled that his journey with Devashish began long before Bhonsle. He revealed that they had worked together on the short film Tandav, which became a huge success on YouTube and received recognition at several international film festivals. The actor shared that before Tandav, they had planned another film written by Devashish, but the project could not move forward because they failed to secure funding.
Manoj said he personally tried to arrange finances for the film, as Devashish was still a struggling filmmaker at the time. Being the more established name in the industry, Manoj took it upon himself to support the director and help bring his stories to life. Their creative partnership later resulted in critically acclaimed projects such as Bhonsle and Joram, which earned praise for their powerful storytelling and performances.
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Bajpayee qouted, “Devashish Makhija made his foray into the cinema Before that, I don’t think they were on a cinema camera. He made ‘Tandav’ with me. It became very successful on YouTube. And it has gotten so many international laurels. Before ‘Tandav’, we were supposed to do another film, Devashish Makhija wrote it. However, we didn’t get funding for it. I was busy arranging the funds because Devashish Makhija is not somebody who is resourceful. I was the one who was already popular, and working in the industry”.
“But still, I was finally able to get funds for Bhonsle. It took time for him to make it. So, I told him, let’s make a short film. He said, give me two days. After two days, he came with the script for ‘Tandav’. And then we started moving. We had 30-35 lacs. So we made a film. When we started making money, that’s when ‘Bhonsle’ was made. Until ‘Bhonsle’ was made, he told me a story about ‘Joram’. We did Joram later. Shahrukh Patel was the CEO of Zee Studios. I told him about it. He said, ‘We are ready to do the film’. It’s one of my best performances. Yes, it has troubled me. It has tested me. I have lost my feet. The amount of shooting I had, It was so immersive. But I am so proud of that performance”, he added.
While ‘Tandav’ became a rage on YouTube, and his dance moves, Bhonsle fetched him the National Award for Best Performance by an Actor.
‘Governor’ is presented by Sunshine Pictures, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Chinmay Mandlekar. It is co-produced by Aashin A. Shah and written by Suvendu Bhattacharyjee, Saurabh Bharat, Ravi Asrani, and Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film is set to release on June 12, 2026.
