Bhubaneswar, Dec. 1: It was his flashing eyes and wicked grin that made Shamar Das of Behenein one of the most hated villains of Hindi tele-serials. The audience’s dislike of the character was a reward for the actor from Sambalpur, Manoj Mishra.

After years of featuring in blink-and-miss roles in numerous Hindi films, the talented actor finally got appreciation and praise for his role in the Hindi soap.

“Behenein gave me the right exposure and opened doors to the film world. Not just in India, even when I go abroad, especially Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore, people recognise me as Shamar Das. It is a great feeling,” smiles Manoj.

After Behenein, it was Odisha calling for the talented actor. Even though the actor wanted to spread his wings in Bollywood, he could not refuse when renowned director from the Odisha film industry Chakradhar Sahu approached him for a role in his next film — Tumaku Paruni Ta Bhuli. The film won several state awards.

Another breakthrough film, the actor reminisces, was Prashant Nanda’s Jianta Bhuta.

“After a long gap I finally got the chance to play a positive role in Jianta Bhuta. The directors usually cast me as villain but Prashant Nanda had confidence in me and believed that I had the right attitude and ability to play the role of a tribal. Working with him was indeed a learning experience,” says the actor.

Manoj has loved his acting journey, but it has not been without bumps and bruises. The National School of Drama and Film and Television Institute of India graduate had to go through the grind of several rejections before he started getting the right roles. In his decade-long struggle, Manoj starred in some of big hits of Bollywood such as Mission Kashmir, Satta, Mangal Pandey —The Rising, Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, The Warrior and many more.

The actor who believes in “realistic and meaningful cinema” refuses to dance around trees and romance heroines. “I do not have hero-like looks and doubt that the audience will enjoy watching me shaking a leg with the heroines. I would like to see myself doing films like the ones Nana Patekar has starred in.”

Though Bollywood remains his first love, Manoj does not want to break ties with Odia cinema. He is optimistic about the growth and success of Odia films; all that is required is “risk-taking” producers. Manoj is keeping fingers crossed for his upcoming films Kebe Tame Naho Kebe Mu Naahin and Chandana Tume Tara. Both films are expected to release shortly.