Vij’s Cop Universe

When he was 36, he gained 18kg to play the role of a bent police officer in Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab (2016). Two years later, he changed his look completely to play Tabu’s lover in Andhadhun. “I’ve played a cop five times already in my career, but each time is different. It all depends on the director’s vision,” says Manav Vij, quite the thinking man’s action hero. He gives the example of Robert De Niro playing a gangster so many times during his career, but making it look different every time. Vij is Gadar Singh, the aptly named police officer prone to fits of temper in the new JioCinema series, Gaanth: Chapter 1-Jamnaa Paar. With a pot belly indicating a lack of discipline, evident in his drinking, and a suspension behind him, he is on the edge in a case that defies logic and rationale. A homoeopath from Ferozepur, Vij has paid his dues by acting in television series, Punjabi cinema, and now increasingly in big-ticket movies and streaming. He played a Pakistani PoW in Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) and a former counter-intelligence officer in Sudhir Mishra’s Tanaav (2022), but credits Andhadhun for being the biggest turning point in his career. Perhaps no one else could have been a better co-actor and guide to Gaanth co-star Saloni Batra who was confused about whether she should play a police officer for the second time in her short career after the memorable Soni (2018), directed by Ivan Ayr. Which reminds me of something Nawazuddin Siddiqui once said: My characterisation is not dependent on the profession but on the persona.

Being an Accidental Actor

He became an actor on the sets of Gangs of Wasseypur 2 (2012) when the actor supposed to play the part ran away after seeing the condition of the abattoir in which they had to shoot. With just half a day available at the spot, Anurag Kashyap’s sister, Anubhuti, the assistant director, told Faisal Malik to wear a police uniform and gave him some lines. He did well enough, though the uniform tore when he first put it on. He had to go back to the shoot to complete his role, with the now famous line, “Kar to hum waise bhi kuch nahin payenge.” After the movie came out, he says he was flooded with requests to play kameena (nasty) police officers. He decided not to do those, but accepted the good roles that came along. Prahlad Chacha of Panchayat, whose tragic arc in Season 3 has got everyone talking, is the best of the lot. Malik enjoys playing the complex character who is so “hard on the outside and soft on the inside”. But Malik’s day job as a producer continues. He is working on several shows and films with his wife Kumud Shahi. The young man who came from Allahabad with nothing but a dream to be in the movies, only to spend time learning the making of promos, helping American crews with shows and producing pilots that didn’t see the light of day, has found his feet in front of the camera.

Riz Ahmed’s Defiance

“We are Punjabis. We have a saying, When all modes of redressal have failed, the raising of the sword will be righteous.” Baljit Purewal, now ageing, but the fire of rebellion still burning bright in his eyes, is one of those who battled against the racist attacks in Southall. Between 1976 and 1981, Britain’s Asian community stood tall against far-right violence and a rising tide of racist murders. Defiance: Fighting the Far Right chronicles the events that led to the Southall protests after the murder of a Sikh teenager, the killing of Blair Peach, the Battle for Brick Lane, and how ‘self-defence is no offence’ became a rallying call in Bradford. The series—co-created by actor and child of immigrants Riz Ahmed’s production company Left Handed Films and Rogan Productions, whose previous documentaries include Uprising—was first shown on Channel 4. Given the power and influence of the South Asian community in Britain, it seems almost unreal to revisit the blatant racism of that time, but it is a testament to those brave men and women who didn’t give up and wanted a better life for their children. In the face of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher saying very clearly she didn’t want any immigration, and the police behaving as if South Asians were children of a lesser god. Defiance will be one of the many fascinating documentaries, features and shorts to be shown at the 22nd annual edition of the internationally acclaimed film festival, the 2024 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA). The festival is returning to Hollywood at Landmark Theatres Sunset and will run from June 27 to June 30.

BollywoodcinemaFaisal MalikManav VijRiz Ahmed