'Bhonsle' directed by Devashish Makhija will have it's world premiere in ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ section at Busan

Manoj Bajpayee’s next feature, Bhonsle to have its World Premiere at the prestigious 23rd Busan International Film Festival to be held from 4-13 October 2018.


The film directed by Devashish Makhija is nominated for the “Kim Jiseok Award” in the A Window on Asian Cinema section. The award will be given out together with a cash prize of 10,000 US dollars to the final two films, selected by the jury members at the Closing Ceremony, which will be held on the 13th of October 2018.

The team of highly acclaimed short film, Taandav – Manoj Bajpayee, director, Devashish Makhija and producer, Indie Muviz is back with this intense political drama, Bhonsle. Manoj Bajpayee had bagged the Best Actor award for the short film at the Filmfare Awards 2016.

Manoj Bajpayee will be seen in the titular role of a terminally ill lone wolf Maharashtrian cop Bhonsle, retired against his will, in politically tumultuous Mumbai, who finds himself forging an unlikely companionship with a 23-year-old North-Indian girl and her little brother, while the raging conflict destroying the world around them reaches his doorstep, giving him one last battle worth fighting for, but it might just be too late.

The film also features a stellar cast like Marathi star Santosh Juvekar, theatre thespian Ipshita Chakraborty Singh and introducing the child artist Virat Vaibhav.

Writer-Director Devashish Makhija returns to Busan International Film Festival 2018 after his internationally acclaimed film, Ajji which Premiered at the festival last year in the New Currents Competition.

The acclaimed actor of Satya and Aligarh, Manoj Bajpayee who is excited about the World Premiere says, “We are honored to premiere Bhonsle in the prestigious Busan Film Festival. Bhonsle is my third film after Aligarh and In The Shadows to premiere at Busan. Bhonsle is special for me in so many ways. I have co-produced it and it is coming out in the 25th year of my career.”

Manoj adds, “The script came to me 4 and a half years ago, I strongly believed in the script and the director and we are fortunate to find an amazing producing partner with Muvizz. I am glad that our vision is turning into reality and Busan selection proves that we were on the right path.”

A still from Bhonsle
A still from Bhonsle

Director Devashish Makhija who was equally excited about the premiere says – “The avant-garde Korean films have been one of my major cinematic inspirations. To have my films premiere in Korea then is like coming home. The Korean audiences at Busan last year welcomed ‘Ajji’ as if it had been made by one of their own. I am hoping for a similar reception for ‘Bhonsle’.”

Bhonsle producer Piiyush Singhof Indie Muviz says, “We feel really honoured and privileged to get the opportunity of having the World Premiere of our Feature Film “Bhonsle” at a highly acclaimed film festival such as Busan, Korea. When I heard the whole narrative from Dev, my first reaction was that, I have to be a part of this, and the lead actor Manoj Bajpayee’s conviction only made our belief stronger.

 The film works at two levels; Firstly, it deals with the issue of immigrants and the conflict which arises due to man-made boundaries; and secondly, it takes us into the inner life of lonely policeman Bhonsle, who, irrespective of his caste and region, fights to remain “humane” first, before all else. 

Bhonsle producer Sandiip Kapurof Promodome Motion Pictures says, “ We have always believed in content-driven cinema and the premiere of such a film at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival encourages us to continue being part of such films in future.”

The film is produced by Manoj Bajpayee Productions, Golden Ratio Films, Promodome Motion Pictures and Indie Muviz and is slated to release later this year.