Mumbai Oct 25 (IANS) Actor Manoj Bajpayee admitted that the historical drama “Pinjar” holds a special place in his cinematic journey, as the film clocked 22 years of release on Friday.

Uploading some glimpses from the Chandraprakash Dwivedi directorial on his IG, Bajpayee pointed out that despite not qualifying for any mainstream awards, the movie managed to get two National Awards – ‘Best Feature Film on National Integration’ and the ‘Special Jury Award’ for Bajpayee.

The ‘Satya’ actor penned on the photo-sharing app, “Two decades and two years ago, Pinjar released and this film has a special place in my journey. The film that did not qualify for any mainstream awards but won two National Film Awards, including my second (sic).”

Bajpayee shared that “Pinjar” talked about the human cost of the division of the two neighbouring countries.

“Based on the legendary Amrita Pritam’s novel, it spoke about unity, inclusiveness, and the human cost of division. The love it continues to receive means a lot. Grateful to the wonderful team, co-actors, and everyone who made this journey so memorable. #22YearsOfPinjar,” he added.

Aside from Bajpayee, the project also features Urmila Matondkar, Sanjay Suri, Sandali Sinha, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Isha Koppikar, and Farida Jalal in key roles, along with others.

The drama sheds light on the Hindu-Muslim problems during the partition of India. The film is based on a Punjabi novel of the same name by Amrita Pritam.

It talks about a Hindu woman who gets abducted in the days leading up to Partition. Forced into marriage, she finds herself living in a new country.

Backed by Lucky Star Entertainment, “Pinjar” features music scored by Uttam Singh. While the camera work for the drama has been handled by Santosh Thundiyil, the editing department has been headed by Ballu Saluja.

With a theatrical release on October 24, 2003, “Pinjar” received a lot of critical acclaim.

–IANS

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