Amitabh Bachchan always inspired me: Sairat director Nagraj Manjule

National Award-winning filmmaker Nagraj Manjule, best known for his Marathi film Sairat, says megastar Amitabh Bachchan has always inspired him with his versatile acting. “Amitabh sir has always inspired me with his movies and his magnificent work,” Manjule, who was given the Maharashtra Icon of the Year award at an event here organised by 92.7 BIG FM on Thursday, said in a statement.

“I never knew that a director is the man behind the camera who makes an actor visually appealing with his acting. It was later when I realised that a director plays an imperative part in putting up a great show,” he added.

After receiving the honour, Manjule spoke about his childhood days and shared few incidents when he used to mimic Amitabh and would never miss any of his movies.

The 39-year-old said he unknowingly developed fervour for directing films while enacting a few scenes from Bollywood classic Sholay. Sairat, which released in April 2016, featured Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar in the lead.

The film is being remade in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam and Tamil. Manjule has also directed films like Pistulya and Fandry.