Morning Tidings

Tag: entertainment

  • XXX Porn Video Filmed at Travelodge by OnlyFans Star Lacey Amour! Adult Entertainment Star Defends Her Act Saying She Did Nothing Wrong

    XXX Porn Video Filmed at Travelodge by OnlyFans Star Lacey Amour! Adult Entertainment Star Defends Her Act Saying She Did Nothing Wrong

    The shocking case where 28 stars are to face legal action for filming XXX video at a Travelodge sees a new twist where one of the ladies, after filming a pornographic movie, has claimed she did nothing wrong. A number of people, including 23-year-old Lacey Amour, stayed at a Travelodge in North Tyneside’s Cobalt Business Park to record XXX porn material for her social media channel. The hotel company announced earlier this week that it was looking into a possible “breach” of its terms and regulations. A video that appeared to show many individuals performing inside the hotel was making the rounds online. 28 Porn Stars to Face Legal Action for Filming XXX Content at a Travelodge Without Authorisation.

    The Travelodge claimed that although it was aware that the recording had occurred without its “authorization,” it was unaware of the occurrence until after the group had left. 28 people reportedly made bookings at the hotel before shooting photos and videos in public spaces including lobbies and elevators. However, Ms. Amour insisted that all recordings made during their 12-hour stay on December 12 were done in private and refuted claims that any filming had occurred outside of the apartments. The trio had recorded sequences for the XXX website OnlyFans, which offers sexually explicit videos in exchange for money from users.

    She said: “This is one of the longest-running industries [adult content creation] to exist, and we face injustice and discrimination that other industries don’t. We are all professionals.” Visitors may be asked to leave if any of the regulations are broken, as stated in the terms and conditions on the Travelodge website.

    A spokesperson for Travelodge said it was investigating, adding: “We will have no hesitation in terminating any future bookings and taking legal action if we believe an individual is in breach of our terms and conditions.” It states that if an individual or group “conducts commercial activity or activity that seeks to gain profit without written consent”, then it reserves the right to have a booking terminated.

    (The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Jan 17, 2023 10:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).

  • Video: Stripper Hired by Nursing Home in Taiwan for Entertainment of Elderly Residents on Wheelchair

    After a video went viral on social media, a nursing home in Taiwan issued a public apology for hiring a stripper to give lap dances to seniors during a party. In its apology, the Taiwan nursing home said that it “deeply regrets” the decision. In the 35-second video clip, a stripper can be seen entertaining and giving lap dances to senior citizens. According to reports, the nursing home drew strong criticism after a clip of the stripper dancing and giving lap dances to retired army personnel went viral on social media. The nursing home also said that the services of the performer were enlisted to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

    Watch Vieo:

    (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user’s social media account and Morning Tidings Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of Morning Tidings, also Morning Tidings does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)

  • Thriving With A Robust Team and Phenomenal Digital Marketing Strategies – Make Way for Ad Media Entertainment

    It is one of India’s most talked-about PR and digital marketing companies; whose targeted campaigns have attracted brands and businesses.

    The incredible growth of industries today is a sign that they are in safer hands and are driven by many young professionals and entrepreneurs who make sure to go beyond limits to inspire more creativity and innovativeness in their chosen fields.

    Some of these young minds have even come together to act as a team and propel other brands and companies in the world of business through the power of digital marketing. Working as one such astute team, driven to provide the best possible results to all their clients, is Ad Media Entertainment, a growing digital marketing and PR company in India that is gradually making its name across the world for its incredible digital services and solutions.

    The team at Ad Media Entertainment has seen an uprise in the digital wave over the years, which is why they are a part of the niche and are confident that even in the coming years, more and more companies like them will emerge to provide the best PR and digital marketing services to people and brands to help them take their next step towards success in their respective fields.

    Elevating each of their client’s presence and visibility in the online world and boosting their accounts on social media has become a part of their daily work harnessing the power and potential of the social media world, along with other digital platforms and tools available for them to explore and capitalize on. This has helped them give their clients the heightened success they seek in their industries.

    If Ad Media Entertainment has earned a mammoth of clients today, their targeted campaigns, incredible digital marketing strategies, techniques and tactics must be credited under the supervision and expertise of their passionate team of professionals. From social media growth services, brand promotions to many other services that boost their client’s presence and reach, Ad Media Entertainment has always gone above and beyond for their clients and has made sure to deliver beyond expectations.

    Their exceptional services have taken clients to top-notch positions through a variety of services, including but not limited to influencer marketing, targeted and organic PR, social media marketing, graphic designing, promotional strategies, and so much more.

  • Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 With Google Entertainment Space Launched at 9

    Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 With Google Entertainment Space Launched at $679

    Beijing: Lenovo has unveiled a new tablet — Yoga Tab 13 — that can function as an external display for a laptop and with an attached stainless steel kickstand that can rotate 180 degrees from the back of the device, users can stand it up or hang it from a wall. The 13-inch tab is priced at $679 and was announced alongside a slew of other Android tablets that Lenovo expects to launch later this summer, including a smaller Yoga Tab 11 and the budget-oriented Tab M7 and Tab M8, The Verge reported. Lenovo To Skip the Mobile World Congress (MWC) In-Person in Barcelona This Year: Report.

    The Tab 13 is compatible with Lenovo’s Precision Pen 2, meaning you could draw or take notes while it’s propped up. It includes an 8MP camera with background noise reduction for video calls. The company claims users will get up to 12 hours of battery life and that its 1080p screen can reach 400 nits of brightness.

    All of the new tablets support Google’s new Entertainment Space, which allows users to access videos, books, and games from multiple different apps in a single hub. The company has a decent track record with entertainment-focused Android devices. It recently unveiled its first foldable PC –ThinkPad X1 Fold — in India at a starting price of Rs 329,000. The latest PC adapts to the new remote, office and hybrid working models, enabling trailblazers to embrace ground-breaking innovation that will empower creativity, collaboration and entertainment.

    (The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Jun 28, 2021 01:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).

  • Tesla Model S & Model X Cars Have PS5 Level Entertainment Computing Power, Says CEO Elon Musk

    Tesla Model S & Model X Cars Have PS5 Level Entertainment Computing Power, Says CEO Elon Musk

    San Francisco: As US-based chip-maker AMD confirmed that it is powering the gaming rig inside Tesla’s Model S and Model X, Elon Musk said the new models can run PS5 level entertainment computing power. AMD has revealed that the new Tesla infotainment system consists of an AMD Ryzen processor paired with an AMD RDNA 2 GPU. Musk had earlier claimed that one would be able to play The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 on a 10 teraflop gaming rig stuffing into the new Tesla Model S and X. Elon Musk-Owned Tesla’s Gigafactory at Berlin Reportedly Attacked by Saboteurs.

    “Yeah, new Model S & X have PS5 level entertainment computing power,” reacting on a tweet related to the announcement, Tesla CEO Musk tweeted. “Model S Plaid delivery pushed to June 10. Needs one more week of tweak,” Musk said.

    Several users commented on the thread with their queries.

    “But can it play Cyberpunk 2077?” a user wrote. “I can imagine people hacking into these cars and use their processing power to mine cryptos. New Tesla owners probably gonna be wondering why their battery runs out faster now,” another user said.

    According to The Verge, the Radeon 6600M chip comes with 28CUs and 1792 shader units — compared to the 36CUs and an estimated 2304 shader units worth of RDNA 2 GPU in Sony’s PlayStation 5, which also claims to be a 10-teraflop gaming rig.

    The performance depends on the software platform, though, as we’ve seen with the 10-teraflop PS5 and the 12-teraflop Xbox Series X — and a recent job posting by Tesla suggests game developers may be building for Linux if they want to target the new Tesla in-car gaming rigs, the report said.

    Recently, Musk had announced that the EV maker is delaying its Model S Plaid delivery event as the new electric vehicle needs one more week of tuning. The CEO said that the delay had to do with making sure that the new battery pack in the updated Model S is going to be safe.

    (The above story first appeared on Morning Tidings on Jun 01, 2021 03:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website morningtidings.com).

  • ‘Ajeeb Daastaans’ & the four shorts formula

    ‘Ajeeb Daastaans’ & the four shorts formula

    Netflix’s latest anthology explores themes like dysfunctional love, prejudice, loneliness and revenge

    In the past year, several anthologies, such as Unpaused and Paava Kadhaigal, have made it to OTT platforms, following the tried-and-tested formula of four short films under one umbrella loosely tied together by a common theme. In the latest anthology, Ajeeb Daastaans, four stories are built around fractured relationships — and unusual ways of navigating them.

    In Shashank Khaitan’s Majnu, Jaideep Alhawat and Fatima Sana Shaikh find themselves in a knotty love triangle at a brooding haveli. In Neeraj Ghaywan’s Geeli Pucchi (Sloppy Kisses), the strongest film in the anthology, two women (Konkona Sensharma and Aditi Rao Hydari) who work in a factory are drawn to each other as they grapple with their widely diverse identities.

    A still from ‘Khilauna’

    In Raj Mehta’s dark drama Khilauna (Toy), actors Nushrratt Bharuccha, Abhishek Banerjee and child actor Inayat Verma stumble through toxic alleys of elite apathy as their days living in a shanty take a bizarre turn. In Kayoze Irani’s quietly poetic Ankahi, Shefali Shah and Manav Kaul strike a special connection that unfolds in unexpected ways. The films travel a full arc, with biting twists in the tales. Some are subtle, others startling.

    Produced by Karan Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment, the contrasting stories are located in a variety of lived-in spaces as the characters work through strands of dysfunctional love, jealousy, prejudice, oppression, loneliness, and revenge.

    Exploring patriarchy

    Where did the ideas come from? For Ghaywan, the film was a track that was on his mind when he was writing his first film, Masaan, many years ago. “But it was too ajeeb [strange] for Masaan, so I thought here is an opportunity for me to make something different and I jumped at it,” says the director over a Zoom interview. Hydari, who appreciated the sensitivity of Ghaywan’s first film, adds, “Saying yes to the film was a no-brainer. It was a world and a working style that was very different and I wanted to experience a film like this.” The film, says Ghaywan, gave him the chance to talk about the largely unexplored intersection of caste, class, gender, and sexuality in India. “For example, Koko [Konkona] and Aditi’s characters come from different backgrounds, yet their experience of patriarchy is the same,” he says.

    A still from ‘Majnu’

    One of the ajeeb elements he wove into the film was playing with the classic idea of a manic pixie dream girl through Hydari’s character. “I feel it’s such a male gaze and is so prevalent and I wanted to subvert it,” he says. Prep involved several discussions on the history of politics and caste to let it seep into the actors. Sensharma was spotted on set reading Yashica Dutt’s Coming Out as a Dalit, but Ghaywan also relied heavily on the raw energy of the actors, both of whom he said have a different process. “Koko wants to understand every bit of it and Aditi’s process is more being in the moment.”

    Across the divide

    In Khilauna, which also explores the dynamics of class divide, the title runs as a telling metaphor through the story. What attracted Raj Mehta of Good Newwz to the film is that it could be interpreted in many ways. “Sumit [Saxena], the writer, built the story around a real incident. It’s about different kinds of people trying to survive…. They have common traits and that blurs the differences between them,” he says, adding that it was a tricky subject to navigate, especially with a child at the centre. His lead actor, Bharuccha, was taken in by the ending. “I did not see it coming. It’s a very bold, brave move and we did it without toning it down,” she says. Prepping for her role of a domestic worker meant she had to shoot herself mopping the floor at home and send it to Mehta to prove she could do it. “I like doing a role I haven’t done before. It was different and challenging. The method to my madness is just to have fun with it,” says the Pyaar Ka Punchnama actor.

    A still from Ankahi

    Shifting sensibilities

    Coming off the back of a tremendous amount of global content released on OTT platforms during the pandemic, Ajeeb Daastaans caters to an audience whose tastes have shifted. Mehta believes it’s time to raise the bar. “Writers are going to change the game and directors have to take it forward. The audience has definitely evolved and you can’t just give them the old dated stuff,” he says. Bharuccha adds that “it’s a great time to be an actor”, with a lot more possibilities and experimentation in the works. The pandemic has also shifted sensibilities.“The way I look at the world has changed a bit. My sensitivity towards urban apathy, one of my favourite subjects that I keep exploring, has changed. I got to see it first hand,” says Ghaywan.

    Has it then become easier to tell stories that push the boundaries of Hindi cinema? “That Karan Johar and Netflix have come together to make a film like this is a healthy sign of changing times and how there is freedom to make these kinds of films,” says Ghaywan. The anthology, he says, shows that “there is no black or white. There are shades of everything in our lives”.

    Ajeeb Daastaans is now streaming on Netflix

  • The comfort of comedy: shows that are revisiting the slice-of-life genre

    The comfort of comedy: shows that are revisiting the slice-of-life genre

    Reacting to crime drama fatigue, makers of shows like ‘Gullak’, ‘Panchayat’ and ‘Kota Factory’ continue to revisit the slice-of-life genre

    Most OTT successes last year stuck to the script and doled out the standard concoction of crime, drama and suspense. But some surprised viewers by taking a route less travelled — slice-of-life comedy. Take the recent hit Gullak for example — a web series (the second season released earlier this year) that revolves around a caricature of the middle-class Indian family that you very well might bump into on the streets. Simple in treatment and layered in commentary, not only are these shows resurrecting a genre of comedy favoured in the eras gone by, but they are tweaking it to suit modern-day sensibilities. So what is the winning formula? Most shows draw from reruns of old Bollywood and regional cinema hits and place the spotlight on India’s rural heartland. Also, these shows dabble in commentary on topics like masculinity, aspiration and loneliness as well (writer Chandan Kumar sought inspiration from phases of his own stay in Mumbai, for Panchayat). “If you’re exploring a segment of life, it will be affected by social and political factors; it’s very hard to see it in a vacuum,” explains Ankur Pathak, former entertainment editor at HuffPost India, who sees such comedies on OTT as a welcome trend. “Panchayat is like going to rehab after watching Paatal Lok!”

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    Makers have banked on the crime drama fatigue that has now set in after a year in lockdown. In a 2020 piece for Financial Express, Prathyusha Agarwal, chief consumer officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, highlighted how the return of comedy was the biggest trend as opposed to predominantly action genre-led performances over the past few years. Rather promising for makers heading towards the same path.

    A still from Gullak

    Making it relatable

    While Panchayat follows an engineering graduate who ends up working for the panchayat of a remote village, Kota Factory (season 2 will make its way to Netflix soon) takes viewers behind the scenes of the making of a successful IIT applicant. This is wholesome family viewing without the pressure of sitting through expletive-laden scenes. “People are falling back on things they love. For an average family who is stuck in the same house, they want to watch something together,” says film critic Raja Sen. None of these shows subscribe to elements that are staple to other OTT offerings — gun wielding gangsters, flashy cabarets or gruesome midnight murders. “We can’t change our past, our childhood. And it’s this sense of nostalgia that makes us love talking about it,” says Durgesh Singh, writer of Gullak, about his inspiration while scripting.

    Vernacular works

    • As for the regional content.vs. comedy with a purpose debate, Singh says the former works better given hits like Kumbalangi Nights (Malayalam) and Bhooter Bhabishyat in Bengali. “Hindi comedy tends to be a bit more slapstick and in-your-face,” he says. Also getting on the vernacular content bandwagon is streaming platform MX Player where the makers are now looking at putting together a comedy aimed at Haryana’s younger audience.
    • Chief content officer Gautam Talwar feels this is quite different from what’s considered funny in other parts of the country. “Metro humour is very different from heartland humour. We might have a Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, but what we really laugh at in this country is a Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah,” he says.

    Smaller towns account for a majority of OTT viewership and people increasingly prefer shows in regional languages with a rural backdrop. By setting these shows in small towns the makers aren’t alienating your audience, points out film critic Sucharita Tyagi. “A majority of the viewers don’t live in Mumbai and New Delhi and neither do they go to clubs.”

    Drawing from the 80s

    Being insightful in content, and modest in treatment isn’t a 2021 phenomenon. A number of these shows today are reminiscent of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, Sai Paranjpye and Kundan Shah fair. “Though nothing here has come close to what those filmmakers were doing at the height of their career, it’s a good parallel to draw. They’re taking steps in that direction,” says Sen. Singh, for example, was confident of his humour in Gullak being responsible and meaningful as he had been seeking to replicate comedy of the 1970s-80s, but wasn’t sure whether it would work for the millennials. Incidentally, he has been roped in for the second season of Panchayat as well.

    A still from Panchayat

    Room for a message

    Another facet most writers seem to agree on is the need to serve a purpose through comedy. “India has the same problems that it had even 30 years ago and I wanted to show that,” says Singh. For example, in spite of being set in contemporary times, the household in Gullak doesn’t have a mixer grinder. For him, this was to show how a patriarchal household prefers its women in the house to use a grinder stone for their cooking. Singh hopes this kind of storytelling makes the audience pause and think, like you would if you were to read classic Indian literature. “We haven’t created good listeners, just good orators. This has made us very reactive, and quick to take offence.”

    Personal touches

    • Kumar of Panchayat adds that as “there are no murders and bomb blasts in the story”, it needs to be tight on paper. Which is why since they feature middle class characters in small Hindi-speaking towns, writers and makers are increasingly tapping into their own real life experiences.

    Future of the funnies

    For Singh, the recent spike in realistic comedies has a flip side. “Post Gullak, I’ve got around 10 calls to write a story based out of rural India,” he says. Trend or not, they are aware of the dangers of excess that have eaten into the Hindi heartland crime drama-genre. Referring to Canadian hit Schitt’s Creek, Kumar feels slice-of-life is more of a treatment, rather than a subject in itself. “As long as this kind of content has insights, the trend will remain,” he says.

    Kota Factory’s poster

    For example, Doordarshan-era comedy series Wagle Ki Duniya staged a rerun this year on TV as well as on SonyLIV, albeit with a new cast and in a pandemic setting. Streaming platform ZEE5 is also experimenting. “We have often mixed comedy with other genres to enhance the characters and the narrative, like how we added comedy to romance in Comedy Couple,” says Manish Kalra, chief business officer. One of the more popular offerings on the platform is the 2020 series Amrutham Dhvitheeyam, the sequel to a cult Telugu comedy series on TV, staging a return after nearly 13 years.

    Blast from the past: Raja Sen’s picks

    • Midnight Diner (Netflix)
    • Fresh Off The Boat (Disney+Hotstar)
    • Malgudi Days (Amazon Prime Video)

    Commenting on the genre, Saugata Mukherjee, head, original content, SonyLIV, says, “We feel there is a bit of a lacunae there that needs to be filled up.” The platform is looking to experiment with newer formats in the segment, with a focus on fictional shows — their upcoming fictional comedy slated for a May release this year, is helmed by comedians Gursimran Khamba and Amit Tandon. “It’s an ensemble cast including two people who are coming together after many years,” adds Mukherjee.

    Blast from the past: Ankur Pathak’s picks

    • Tu Hi Mera Sunday
    • Do Dooni Chat
    • Choti Si Baat
    • Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa

    So while these kinds of shows do stand the risk of getting repetitive, experimenting is key. “This year, I hope we see comedies that really take on conventional thinking and say things that are counter-cultural,” says Sen, affirming that the stage seems to be set for makers to further develop this kind of storytelling.

  • Jaaved Jaaferi introduces viewers to various aspects of the animal kingdom, some funny and a few fierce

    Jaaved Jaaferi introduces viewers to various aspects of the animal kingdom, some funny and a few fierce

    What is common between Sher Khan’s deep baritone and Mickey Mouse’s squeaky voice? Actor Jaaved Jaaferi has lent his voice to both characters in Hindi.

    The list of his voiceovers is long. Toggling between a range of voices and emotions comes naturally to him, like dancing and acting. Up next, he will be seen in National Geographic’s series Animals Gone Wild.

    The show will have Jaaferi take up multiple roles: Tony Tiewallah, Camouflage Ray and Gullu Guide. The characters have been created by him. Accompanying him will be a gamut of animals, virtually making an appearance from their respective natural habitats. African elephants, llamas, dogs, crocodiles, chimpanzees, lions… “We had to keep the credibility alive. The challenge was how much of Javed should be there in terms of voice and character. It should not be an overdose,” says Jaaferi over phone.

    Though Jaaferi was part of the creative process, a research team put together all the facts about animals, their mannerisms and why they do what they do. The actor has learnt some fascinating aspects of the animal kingdom through this show. “I have seen ducks suddenly coming close and attacking you, if you don’t give in to their whims and fancy. I have seen a swan attack a gorilla, or a cat scare away a big dog. There is harmony as well, like for example when you see how whales protect their babies. It is beautiful how animals can connect,” he adds.

    It was an interesting creative process, says Jaaferi, adding that they spent quite a few months during lockdown working on this. “The footage that you see, has been sent from all over the world. They have been shot on phone cameras. We had to collate them and a team of experts gave all the information,” says Jaaferi. Each episode features around four to six animals.

    An animal lover, Jaaferi says he never enjoyed watching a circus. “Why make elephants stand on two legs and lions jump through hoops?” He adds, “I love any form of creature existing in Nature. I have always felt that some animals can be domesticated and some just can not. Let us be careful and not intrude into their territory.”

    Animals Gone Wild will première on National Geographic India on March 22 at 8 pm.

  • Manoj Bajpayee on his new film, Silence Can You Hear It

    Manoj Bajpayee on his new film, Silence Can You Hear It

    Actor Manoj Bajpayee explains why he thinks like a migrant and talks about tackling a different genre in his upcoming film, Silence Can You Hear It

    Over the years, actor Manoj Bajpayee has turned into Mr Reliable, one of those rare actors who can rise above a bad script and lend it some semblance of respect. Give him a well-written role though, and a sensitive director, and you can see him transform on screen — like he did in Gali Guleiyan, Bhonsle and even Amazon Prime’s The Family Man. In his next outing on Zee 5, Silence Can You Hear It, co-starring Prachi Desai and Arjun Mathur, we’ll see him playing a cop investigating the mysterious disappearance of a woman.

    Bajpayee, the son of a farmer, has often said he thinks in Bhojpuri. Last September, he made headlines for rapping the number ‘Bambai main ka ba’, highlighting the plight of migrant workers. “The mindset of a migrant never changes, no matter how much you earn, how big a property you live in, how happy a family you have. It is a feeling of not belonging anywhere. It hangs in the air, neither here nor there. I’ve gone through that feeling,” he says, adding that this may be why he continues to try new things.

    Edited excerpts from an interview done over voice notes, rich with his trademark pauses:

    Your thoughts on Silence Can You Hear It and how you respond to the mystery/thriller/horror genre?

    This is one genre I’ve not done and the script is fantastic. I’ve worked with Kiran Deohans [producer], who was the cinematographer of Aks. He’s prolific and his wife, Aban, had been wanting to direct a feature for a long time. She loves this genre and when she pitched the film to me, I wanted to do it as an actor and a friend. The experience of making it was amazing: the livewire cast, the fun, the hard work. Reports from the edit room are encouraging too.

    A still from Gali Guleiyan

    You lost weight and immunity when shooting for Gali Guleiyan and said you felt you were becoming the performance. Are you involved at this level for every role?

    When I am working on a film, that’s the only life for me at that point of time, and whatever that character demands we all go the extra mile to give it. My character in Gali… of a shopkeeper who observes people through a hidden camera, was one such. I could not afford to hold back. It [the character] was screaming out loud, so I had to go ahead and experiment, internally and externally. Somewhere on the 28th or 29th day, I started experiencing the sound of a whistle in my mind. I knew something was not right and we still had six days to go for my portion to get over. I requested Dipesh Jain [the director] to wrap up my scene in time and he, along with the producer, were very careful. I was almost on the verge of a breakdown and no one knew how to help. Dipesh kept getting me cold drinks to cool me down [laughs]. This, when all I possibly needed was to be put to bed and told to sleep. But it is worth it in the end.

    This itch to perform, can you describe it?

    I don’t know how to think of anything else, nor do I know when this madness of playing a character will go away. When I shoot, I don’t stay at home. I stay in a faraway hotel, so I can be secluded and in character. I don’t take messages or do interviews. I am not available to anyone but my family — we speak over the phone once or twice a week. They understand that the roles I do require this kind of aloofness and I am blessed that way. This itch is not an itch; it is a full-blown disease. I can’t describe it, but I feel complete fulfilment when I do a good scene. I feel a joy I don’t feel otherwise.

    A still from Bhonsle

    You’ve often said you don’t like nostalgia — everyone’s comfort zone.

    Living in the past makes you still. You’re mentally always trying to go back, and it discourages you from being happy in the present or to look forward to a greater experience. I go back to my village [Belwa in Bihar’s West Champaran], and realise that my feelings are not the same. They belong to a different time, age and atmosphere, and cannot be repeated.

    Can you go back and watch your work without critiquing it?

    I mostly don’t watch my work as I’m too blunt and brash a self-critic. I have respect for reviewers and critics, but I look at things very differently. Craft is something I’ve always worked on — my voice, speech, diction, the sur. I look for the small rhythms, small gestures, the notes in speech. I am very finicky, and brutally frank [with myself] so I don’t need anyone else to criticise me.

    ‘I don’t belong anywhere’: actor Manoj Bajpayee on thinking like a migrant and his new film, Silence Can You Hear It

    Having been in the industry for so long, does OTT help you carve new paths?

    I came into the industry in the 90s. Doing one film your way was so difficult, like you were asking for the sky. Now, with OTT, there are so many offers, so many talented newcomers, superlative performers such as Pratik Gandhi, Pankaj Tripathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vijay Varma, Gulshan Devaiah, Jaideep Ahlawat and Rajkummar Rao. I am very glad they are doing well and creating a body of work they will be proud of. That has been my focus — creating a filmography that will give me some kind of satisfaction that I’ve done well.

    Silence Can You Hear It premieres on Zee5 on March 26.