Manav & his secret superstar

Jasmine Singh

 He was fighting to keep his dreams, his ambition afloat, but his career refused to take off despite accolades and criticism, and then one day, all of a sudden, actor Manav Vij surrendered his will to fight! “Now, I don’t fight. Now, no inner turmoil. He takes me wherever He wants to, and I dutifully follow Him.”

And the result is—an enviable body of work, films where he has made an impression and on top of everything, a beautiful life with an equally beautiful and talented wife, an actress Mehar Vij. 

In Chandigarh promoting his Punjabi film Khido Khundi along with his wife, Mehar Vij, the actor from Ferzoepur, now settled in Mumbai, has taken a journey beginning with blink and miss kind of roles to critically acclaimed ones in films like Udta Punjab, Phillauri and Lucknow Central. 

“People think I bluff when I say that I don’t chose roles, the roles in some way approach me, and He just leads me,” shares Manav, who does acknowledge the philosophical heaviness in his statement, “but this is the truth,” he doesn’t bat an eyelid. 

An actor, who decided sometime back that he wouldn’t bother about the length of his role, and also ensured that his craft and credibility would ran parallel, still doesn’t pick and choose his role. “The much-acclaimed film Punjab 1984 was the point where I decided to leave everything aside and experiment with my craft and establish my credibility, which by the way is an ongoing process. Only now I have been able to establish my credibility.”

And it is this credibility that has got Manav Vij two much talked-about films, one tentatively titled Battle Of Buxar, being directed by Navdeep Singh, starring Saif Ali Khan, Zoya Hussain and Manav Vij. Manav replaced R Madhavanin this film after the later had to walk out due to an injury. And the second untitled film is with Sriram Raghavan, starring Ayushman Khurana. 

“My credibility and craft are getting me the due,” adds Manav, who embraces every character given to him. “I live it in and out so much so that I, Manav, no longer exist during that period. In fact, my father forced me see a psychiatrist after Khido Khundi, I wasn’t just ready to let my character, Harry, go.” 

And this is where that one person who has stood by him all through makes an entry. A filmi way of saying it but this person, Mehar, Manav’s wife, has always been there. The actress of Secret Superstar fame herself has a long, struggling yet rewarding journey to talk about. Together they make two strong individuals, “who respect each other and are also very protective of each other,” shares Manav who gladly lets Mehar decide his films. 

“She is magical on screen and off screen as well, and I know that she is doing just the right thing for me.”  

On whether the Punjabi film industry is giving his due finally, the actor pauses, sips his black coffee and says, “Well, I wish they stop using me as a bait for the singers.” The answer is direct and deep-rooted in the pain of rejection, non-acknowledgement. “I think with Khido Khundi things should change, and anyway I have let Mehar select roles for me,” he looks at her curly hair, blissfully smiling wife, his secret superstar. 

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