‘Filmmakers have this notion that sardars can only do comedy roles’

It’s not everyday that an actor succeeds in making an impact with their very first film. For Manjot Singh, it definitely was a dream come true when his 15minute role in Oye Lucky! Lucke Oye! (2008) got him a flurry of praise. Not just that, he even won a best debut actor award for it.

Since then, he has starred in several films, including Fukrey (2013) and Dream Girl (2019), but none could match the popularity of his debut. He feels that the film, if released in today’s time, would have garnered big box office numbers, since content-driven films have more takers now.

“I think about this every day — okay, not every day, but most of the time — that if Oye Lucky… had released today, I’d have been on a different level. Getting an award in today’s day and age of social media… there’s a boom you get, which wasn’t there before. That’s why it’s taking me time to reach that stage. But maybe I wouldn’t even have got that film if it was made in today’s time. Jo destiny mein likha hai, wohi milta hai,” says the 27-year-old.

The one thing he rues is the limited scope of roles out there for Sikh actors, and that landing a romantic film for them is a very “big thing”. Prod him further and he explains, “I did a short film recently — a love story. Being a sardar, ek love story karna is a big thing. Filmmakers have this perception that sardars can only do comedy roles. We romance in real life, too. We have kids too. We are cheated on, too. I myself have been cheated on so much! Just because you wear a turban doesn’t mean you can be typecast.”

With a dream project all ready, he says, “Perceptions are made by makers, and only they can change them — by casting us in different kind of roles.”

Being a sardar, ek love story karna is a big thing. Wearing a turban doesn’t mean you can be typecast.

MANJOT SINGH ACTOR