Manoj Bajpayee Talks ‘The Fable’ Festival Run, ‘Family Man’ Season 3

Manoj Bajpayee, known as one of India’s finest actors, is riding high on the festival circuit with “The Fable,” which debuted at the Berlinale and is now heading to Valladolid’s SEMINCI and the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.

The film follows a happy family led by Dev (Bajpayee), who live as owners of a vast Himalayan orchard estate until a series of mysterious fires bring into question who they really are. Directed by Raam Reddy (Locarno winner “Thithi”), the film resonated with Bajpayee during a time of personal transition.

“This was the film that happened to me just when I was transitioning into a more spiritual realm of life, and my mind was in no mood to get stuck into this ambition mode and the goal mode,” Bajpayee tells Variety. “It is something that I have been searching for for many years.”

The actor found an immediate connection to his character, Dev. “I could relate to it. I could understand what Dev was going through, the struggle and the conflict of Dev,” Bajpayee says. “He was getting sucked into the materialistic part of life, which he’s inherited from his father and grandfather.”

The actor faced unique challenges in portraying Dev’s emotional journey. “It’s your silence which has to convey a lot of things which the character is going through, the conflict, the wanting to completely detach himself from the goings on and the estate and is still not able to let it go,” Bajpayee says.

Shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, “The Fable” has been selected for several international festivals. Bajpayee values this recognition: “More than this word called ‘international,’ my audience is getting wider and wider. It’s such a great feeling that most of your films are being shown in one prestigious film festival or the other.”

Meanwhile, Bajpayee’s “Despatch,” directed by Kanu Behl (Cannes titles “Titli” and “Agra”), is set to premiere at the Mumbai Film…