Mahesh Manjrekar on the sets of Saregamapa Junior. Picture by Sanat Kr. Sinha

Singer, actor, writer and film-maker Mahesh Manjrekar breezed through town recently for Zee Bangla’s Saregamapa Junior at the Dumurjola stadium. In between acting special judge, the maverick Manjrekar stunned all by singing a Kishore Kumar track — Ek din pakhi ude jabe — in flawless Bengali. t2 caught up with the Vaastav maker.

So you can speak Bengali?

Not really, but I love the language. Bengalis have a typical way of pronunciation; every word is like rosogolla. Actually I had a friend Dev Dasgupta, a Bengali who taught me Ek din pakhi ude. It’s similar to Marathi, in terms of its sweetness.

Do you watch Bengali films?

Not the recent ones because they don’t release in Mumbai. I’m a great fan of Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak. My favourite films are Pather Panchali and Meghe Dhaka Tara.

How do you juggle acting, singing, directing and writing screenplays?

See, it’s very simple for me. We’ve just one life so why not try everything. And so far I haven’t fallen flat with anything. I derive satisfaction by trying different things. When I was young my father wanted me to be a doctor. That didn’t happen. At that time I wanted to play cricket and enrolled myself under the same coach who trained Sachin Tendulkar later. I gave up because I wanted to be a batsman but my coach insisted that I should be a bowler. Later I realised maybe he was right. Also, you forgot to mention that I’m a good dancer too. I had participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and had held myself strong till the semi-final. So whether it’s acting or singing, directing or writing, I have never been a disgrace.

Which do you enjoy most?

I enjoy life and that is why I enjoy singing, dancing and writing screenplays. But direction is like my second nature. It comes very naturally to me. I don’t follow storyboards on the sets. I just go with the flow while directing. The reason why I’m into so many things is also because I’m very restless. I like doing many things, or else I sulk. Now I want to finish off all my assignments fast so that I can start my film.

Any regrets?

Yes, there is one. I wish I hadn’t done a film like Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav. It was an apology of a film and I was a shame in it. Good people didn’t watch it.

Do you want to stick to direction, or take up something else?

In future I want to be a farmer. I want to buy a plot of land and grow trees. Sometimes I’m too bogged down with the competition and pressures of being in the film industry. A farmer does not compete with another farmer, in terms of whose tree grows faster or taller. Or maybe if I live till 80, I would become a priest or a very spiritually-inclined person. But whatever I want to be, I don’t want to act regularly in films because I know my limitations as an actor. I don’t want to be an eyesore on screen, ever. I would only like to play characters I know I’m confident about portraying.

What films are you doing?

There’s Meerabai Not Out and Wanted Dead or Alive with Om Puri and Ayesha Takia. I would also start my own film by the end of the year. And I’m waiting for a buyer for my film Struggler, which was completed last year, where I’m the only actor. It’s a very interesting take on the various people who come to Mumbai and struggle. I often see them at the roadside stalls in Andheri. All of them believe that they have the potential to become superstars. They come to the city with a dream, chase that dream and only one or two make it. I found it very intriguing, watching them from close proximity. It was important for the film to have just one character, as he is a struggling director who scours the city with a camera. But I’m looking for a commercial release soon.