By Joginder Tuteja

It is indeed turning out to be Happy Diwali for Manoj Bajpayee. Eight months after the lockdown was announced, theaters have finally opened in Maharashtra. This has also cleared the decks for the release of Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari which was waiting for pan-India theaters to be operational all over again. While the last minute modalities are still being worked out between distributors and the exhibitors around revenue sharing and the window for OTT release post theatrical screening, things are progressing as planned for the Manoj Bajpayee starrer.

No wonder, the actor is excited since this would be the first Diwali release for the actor who has been on the scene for over 25 years.

“Manoj has been playing a variety of roles over the years and has no qualms around whether a film is offbeat or commercial, or whether the set up requires him to be the central protagonist or a part of an ensemble. If the role excited him, he does it. Of course, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari is an altogether different territory for him. This time around he is going all out to woo the masses in a comedy set up. What better way to bring a film like this but on Diwali, when everyone is in a mood to celebrate,” says a close associate of the actor.

Moreover, with theaters finally opening up, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari is practically the first new Hindi film to be releasing.

“There have been re-runs of films like Kabir Singh, KGF, Thappad, Mission Mangal and even Baahubali: The Beginning. However, these have been mere token releases as audience footfalls have been near to negligible. Even they are looking for new content and now that the COVID scare is also diminishing, it is expected that if a film is good, it would be accepted. With the promo of Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari finding good appreciation, courtesy some clean entertainment that it is promising to offer, we all have a reason to smile,” an exhibitor comments.

Well, Manoj can well be expected to be grinning from ear to ear since this is also his first Diwali release.

“Technically though, he was also there in Veer-Zaara that had released in Diwali 2004. However that film was spearheaded by Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee, while Manoj had a supporting role to play. In Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari though, he is the lead along with Diljit Dosanjh and Fatima Sana Shaikh. A Diwali release on one’s filmography is indeed something to feel good about and in this case, it is also going to be the first post-lockdown release, hence turning out to be all the more special,” the associate adds.

With less than a week remaining for the arrival of the film, one now waits for all the entertainment that this Abhishek Sharma directed film has to offer.