Panaji, Nov 21: Famous actor Manoj Bajpayee on Friday said that the Bollywood and other filmmakers were now bringing Kashmir’s people, not just the security narrative, to screen.
Speaking on the red carpet at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here at Panaji in Goa, Bajpayee, the four-time National Film Award, four-time Filmfare Award, and two-time Asia Pacific Screen Award winner, said that the Bollywood and other filmmakers in the country were making movies on Kashmir that are about Kashmir and the people of Kashmir, not just security-centric.
“Things are changing very rapidly, and many films are being made about Kashmir which are not just security-centric,” he said.
A recipient of Padma Shri, Bajpayee said that the romantic-tragedy film ‘Laila Majnu’, that was directed by Sajid Ali and produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, and Preety Ali, was one such movie.
“A film like ‘Laila Majnu’ was shot in Kashmir and talks about Kashmir and Kashmiri people,” said Bajpayee, who is known for his iconic roles in Satya, Gangs of Wasseypur, and Shool.
He said similarly, many filmmakers were now coming forward and making their own stories for the big screen and OTT platforms.
Bajpayee is in Goa for the premiere of the third season of his ‘The Family Man’, a spy action thriller streaming television series created by Raj & DK for Amazon Prime Video.
In ‘The Family Man’, Bajpayee plays Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man secretly working as an intelligence officer for the Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell (TASC), a fictitious branch of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
In the first season of ‘The Family Man’, Tiwari is sent to Kashmir as part of the investigation into ‘Mission Zulfikar’.
Bajpayee won the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actor for ‘The Family Man’.
The Kashmir storyline is central to the first season of ‘The Family Man’ and explores the political tensions and the impact of these issues on the local population.
“Some new filmmakers are very, very courageous, and we need to be positive about it,” Bajpayee said at IFFI 2025.
At least 124 new film creators from all over India and abroad are screening their films at IFFI 2025, showcasing their talent to the world through their content production and storytelling.
A total of 270 films from 81 countries will be screened during IFFI 2025, with Japan being the country of focus this year.
IFFI 2025 celebrates the theme ‘Convergence of Creativity and Technology’, and this year, for the first time, IFFI includes an AI Hackathon, encouraging filmmakers to use AI for content development and filmmaking.
This year’s IFFI also has another new addition – the largest-ever WAVES Film Bazaar, positioning IFFI at the forefront of creativity, technology, and industry innovation.
Started in 1952, IFFI continues to be South Asia’s oldest and largest celebration of cinema.
Jointly hosted by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), and the State Government of Goa, the festival has grown into a global cinematic powerhouse over the years.
It provides an opportunity for first-timers to share space with legendary maestros.
IFFI provides international competitions, cultural showcases, masterclasses, tributes, and the high-energy WAVES Film Bazaar, providing an opportunity for ideas, deals, and collaborations to take flight.
Being staged against Goa’s stunning coastal backdrop, IFFI 2025 will conclude on November 28.
