Impressed with director's belief in my 'Tevar' role: Manoj Bajpayee

Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who has scored a nomination at a forthcoming awards event for "Tevar", says he was impressed with the movie's director Amit Sharma's belief in the character.

In the movie, Manoj portrayed Gajendra Singh, an obsessed politician and lover. For this, he has been nominated in the Best Actor in a Negative Role category at the second edition of the Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA), which is to be held in Dubai.

"I was impressed with director Amit Sharma's belief in my character - Gajendra Singh. There were two to three facets of his personality which were endearing. I am extremely happy that it has earned me a TOIFA nomination," Manoj said in a statement.

Others who have been nominated in the same category are Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Darshan Kumar and Ronit Roy. The winning actor will be feted with a black elephant-shaped trophy with a film reel atop its trunk.

To be held on March 18 at the Dubai International Stadium, TOIFA will be co-hosted by actors Parineeti Chopra and Riteish Deshmukh.

The event will be aired on Sony Entertainment Television for India.