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In the last few months, Mahesh Manjrekar’s name has been attached to several films. One of the actor-director’s projects revolves around Nathuram Godse, announced through social media last month. Another of his forthcoming projects is a biopic on Veer Savarkar. There are a few others in the pipeline, too.

Bring this up, and Mahesh, who has recently recovered from cancer, says, “I’ve also written a film called Zabaan; it’s a father-son story, rooted in emotions. It’s about a son’s promise to the father to bring someone back, to correct a wrong from the past. White is another story that I have lived with for a long time and it’s now in the process of being made. There are Marathi films also in the offing. As of now, I plan to start the Veer Savarkar biopic in March-April 2022 and try to complete it in a single schedule. Post that, I will get into Godse’s research and writing. I have to read 100 books before I put pen to paper.”

The filmmaker, who recently directed Antim: The Final Truth with Salman Khan and Aayush Sharma in the lead, believes, “The way people reacted to the news of a film on Godse was quite shocking. People see these films with microscopic vision. I remember when I made a film on P L Deshpande, which turned out to be one of the best biopics I have made, I was questioned about why I had shown him smoking in the film. The truth is that everywhere in his pictures, you can see him smoking. These people are artistes and not some heavenly creatures. Everyone knows what they did in their times, but when they see it in a film, they question it.”

When asked how he tackles this degree of spotlight on his projects, Mahesh says, “I don’t know what I should do. A section of people spelt out their objections on the basis of the trailers and other material on social media, but when another section saw the film, they didn’t know what the issue was all about. People pick on some really small things for no apparent reason. Sometimes, you just have to keep quiet and let it all pass.”