Natha [Live

If Rizvi’s Peepli [Live is about the forgotten India that resides in villages,Natha,the poor farmer who becomes the centre of a media circus when he decides to kill himself to secure a government compensation for his family,is the face of that forgotten India. On Rizvi’s canvas,Natha haunts – with his slumped shoulders,dejected walk and hollow gaze,with an honesty that seems uncharacteristically real in Bollywood.

When Manikpuri looks around,he can still see Peepli happening. “Jaise mediawaale Natha ke peeche lage hue the waise hi ab woh mere ghar pe jamaa hain. Udhar Bhilai mein original Peepli ho raha hai (If the media hounded Natha in the film,now they are stationed at my house. The original Peepli is unfolding in Bhilai),” says the 40-year-old actor.

Four days after the release of Peepli [Live,when he landed at the Raipur airport,Manikpuri was given a hero’s welcome with garlands and drums. The local MLA organised a function in his honour. “Hungama ho gaya hai. Suddenly everybody knows me in my hometown,” says Manikpuri.

On Wednesday evening,he was felicitated by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh at the Hotel Babylon in Raipur where he was awarded Rs 51,000 for the glory he has brought his home state. “I never dreamt all this will happen to me. It’s still a dream. Haqeeqat hote huye bhi yeh ek sapna hai,” he says.

Manikpuri grew up in Brindanagar,a small village in Bhilai,where his father was a daily wage earner in a local factory. His childhood wasn’t about dreams,it was about prayers. “When you have very little in life,then even your dreams are small,” he says. Manikpuri’s prayer? That nobody in his house goes to sleep hungry. He discontinued his education after Class V and started singing in local festivals and weddings to make ends meet.

“I would shamelessly land up at every wedding in my village and the Navratri festival. Kuch na kuch mil jaata tha jo main ghar le jaata tha (I would have a few bucks to take home),” he reminisces.

Life got some direction when he joined Nacha,the Chhattisgarhi folk theatre. In 1999,theatre guru Habib Tanvir spotted him in a nukkad natak on leprosy and invited him to join Naya Theatre,his troupe dedicated to evolving a new theatre language with folk artists. Manikpuri shifted base to Bhopal,where Naya Theatre is based,and did bit roles in its productions. He was the gambler in Charandas Chor and the barafwaala in Agra Bazaar. In Kamdev ka Apna Basant Ritu ka Sapna,an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream,he enacted the role of Quince,the director of the play.

The biggest role of his theatre career was in Hirma Ki Amar Kahani where he played a rickshawpuller. “I didn’t have many lines in the play but there was a lot of movement,” says Manikpuri.

He doesn’t have much of a speaking part in Peepli [Live either,but he conveys it all with his body language. The courtyard scene where he first tries to shoo away a goat that nibbles at his hair only to give into his instinct of gently comforting the animal is heartwarming.

Nageen Tanvir who has spiritedly kept Naya Theatre together after her father’s death remembers Manikpuri as an “uninhibited actor”. “Omkar’s strength,” she says,“lies in his fearlessness. Folk artists don’t suffer from stage fright,they are very relaxed in front of an audience,unlike urban actors who think too much about the process and end up being fearful. Also,Omkar brings a certain gravity to his performances.”

Theatre brought out the natural performer in him,but it wasn’t enough. At best,he managed to earn Rs 4,000 (a month?),which barely sustained his family of seven comprising his wife,three kids,brother and mother. “Theatre filled me with joy but at the back of my head I always knew that it’s never going to be enough. As my kids started growing up,the pressure mounted. I could not afford their school fees. I was upset because I wanted them to study,” he says.

Manikpuri’s eldest daughter Juneshwari will start college next year while his 12-year-old son Devendra and six-year-old daughter Geetanjali study in the village school.

And then he got the phone call that changed his life. Manikpuri animatedly takes us back to that moment. “Two years ago Ramchandra Singh,the new director of Naya Theatre,asked me if I would like to work in Aamir Khan’s film. I thought he was pulling my leg,” he says.

Initially he was penciled in for a supporting role of a villager,but after Rizvi saw his audition she decided to cast him as Natha. “When Anushaji and Mahmoodji (Mahmood Farooqui,co-director and Rizvi’s husband) told me that I would play the lead along with Raghubir Yadav,I thought everyone was in on some grand joke that was being played on me,” he laughs.

He credits his transition from folk theatre to 70 mm to Rizvi. “She was very patient with me. If I could not follow her instructions,then she would take me aside and explain it,” he says. The entire cast of Peepli [Live is made up of theatre actors. Rizvi insisted on a 15-day workshop. There Raghubir Yadav,who plays Natha’s elder brother Budhiya,took Manikpuri under his wings. “Raghu bhai has been a huge support. We became each other’s shadow during the shoot,” he says.

Peepli [Live,says Manikpuri,is a defining experience not just for just him but for his entire village. “It’s good that my film is about my people. I like the message that Anushaji has given in the film. If farmers stop farming,what will the city people eat? Villages are in a bad shape. People are dying because of inflation. Aisi picture banana zaroori hai,” he says.

In 2006,Manikpuri had met Aamir when the latter came to see his play Raj Rath. An excited Manikpuri even got his picture taken with Aamir. “Who would have thought that two years later I would meet Aamirji in his house?” he says. Or,he would replace Aamir as the lead of Peepli [Live – Aamir was Rizvi’s first choice for Natha. Manikpuri has always been an Aamir fan. He watched Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak four times in a Bhilai talkie just for the song Papa kehte hain.

“I have two favourite stars — Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir. Bachchan’s Naseeb was the very first film that I saw on screen. Everything looked so big! I remember thinking to myself ki itne bade chehre waale log kahan rehte hain (where do people with such big faces live),” he laughs.

He’s slowly discovering that land of big faces. Movie offers are coming his way and the Rs 2 lakh that he got for Peepli [Live is getting exhausted,but he is not in a hurry to sign anything. The plan is to come to Mumbai in September and test the waters. “I will stay with my friends and figure out if it’s worth my while to move to Mumbai,” he says. Omkar Das Manikpuri is looking for a new name.