Jhund director Nagraj Manjule opened up about the film, working with Amitabh Bachchan, and reuniting with his Sairat stars Akash Thosar and Rinku Rajguru.
Talking about Jhund and the preparation that went into it, Manjule told Times of India, "I did extensive research when this concept came to me. I met Vijay Barse ji and his students before writing the script. And when I narrated the story to Bachchan sir, he readily agreed. I never knew that one day I would make a film with Bachchan sir."
The filmmaker added that he learned a lot from Bachchan, "Despite having done so many movies, he continues to show extreme dedication and passion for the craft. Like they say, success goes to one’s head, but with Amitabh sir it is different."
He added, "One can only learn his simplicity by observing him on the sets. And as a human being too, he is very helpful."
Nagraj Manjule further said that he doesn't stress about box office earnings, "It is true that the responsibility factor is there. But making a movie is all about teamwork, even ‘Sairat’ was a collaborative hit so it is everyone’s effort and everyone’s success."
He added that the only difference this time around was that he was working with a big star like Bachchan.
When asked about other actors he'd like to work with, Nagraj named Aamir Khan and Naseruddin Shah, adding, "Even Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal are great actors, I would like to work with them. I also follow Raju Hirani ji’s movies. The thing is I want to work with a lot of actors, but I am not sure if they will want to work with me."
Talking about working with Thosar and Rajguru again, Nagraj said, “There are a lot of small characters around Bachchan sir, and my previous actors were fitting right into the roles. Also, Ajay-Atul are my favourites, our tuning is also very good. We understand each other’s requirements, they know what my heart wants.”
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