After an eight-year hiatus from cinema, Manchu Manoj made a comeback this year with Bhairavam, and more importantly, Mirai, which is currently running in theatres. The fantasy film, which has clocked over ₹90 crore worldwide in four days of release, sees him play the antagonist Mahabir Lama, aka Black Sword. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Manoj reveals why he said yes to playing the villain after two decades of playing the hero, how he buys into his character’s motivations and more.

Manoj compares Mahabir to Thanos, Ravana

The response for his character Mahabir in theatres has been as great as for the film’s protagonist Vedha, played by Teja Sajja, with many lauding Manoj’s performance. “I’ve seen people in theatres screaming when my character comes on-screen. I came back apprehensive years later, and I believe that receiving such applause and love is devudu ichina daya (God’s grace). I must also thank my wife (Bhuma Mounika) and family for their support,” he says, adding, “I am feeling out of this world…like all my doubts have been answered. I was numb before the film’s release, but compared to any of my other films, I feel very confident now after the response to Mirai.”

In Mirai, he plays Mahabir, the kind of villain who has deep-rooted anger stemming from the prejudice he has faced, and he believes that gaining power will set all wrongs right. “He’s a lot like Thanos, someone who’s so powerful, he can only be beaten when all the Avengers come together. After Mahabir got control of the nine grandas (texts) left behind by Emperor Ashoka, even the weapon Mirai couldn’t beat him. Shri Ram had to come down to beat him with the bow Kodanda, like he did with Ravana,” says Manoj, explaining why his character impressed him.

Feeling empathy for Mahabir

What’s more, despite the violent path his character chose in Mirai, Manoj says he empathises and understands the motive behind it all. “I don’t see Mahabir as your token villain. What he believed, I believed too when I was playing him,” he says, adding, “I also realised that there are some things I can agree with him on. He is fighting for equality at the end of the day, he’s angry at God because he blames Him for all the injustice in the world.”

The actor is quick to clear that he doesn’t condone the violence his character chooses, also remarking that, unlike Mahabir, he’s quite religious. “The violent path he chooses and the anger at God are the only things I don’t agree with. The stunts were fun and easy. What was tough was that, unlike my character, I am religious. I did not want to be disrespectful to God despite my character feeling that anger, and the director (Karthik Gattamneni) ensured we never crossed that line,” says Manoj.

As for what’s up next, Manoj says he has a couple of interesting projects lined up already, one of which he begins shooting in December. However, he says after all these years in cinema, he no longer wants to restrict himself to certain roles. “As an actor, I am open to everything,” he says, rounding off.