Tigmanshu Dhulia returns to acting

After his highly-acclaimed acting debut in Anurag Kashyap's "Gangs Of Wasseypur", filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, currently swamped with two back-to-back directorial undertakings, has been persuaded to face the camera again.

He will act in Ketan Mehta's "Mountain Man", a biopic on the unsung Bihari hero Dashrath Manjhi, who dug a road through a mountain from his remote village to the nearest city.

Dhulia had been persuaded by Mehta to play a negative character once again. When Dhulia begged off citing his water-tight schedule, Mehta insisted only he could play the part.

On Feb 3, Dhulia drove to Wai on the outskirts of Mumbai to shoot for the film.

"Ketan said he had a role for me in 'Mountain Man'. I play the evil mukhiya (leader) of a village in Bihar. I couldn't say no to Ketan. I've been a fan of his work forever. So here I am once again heading to the badlands, all thanks to Anurag Kashyap," said Dhulia.

Having directed films like "Paan Singh Tomar" and "Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster", Dhulia has no long-term acting plans.

"I have no intention of pursuing an acting career. Main direction mein khush hoon (I am happy in direction). I did 'Gangs Of Wasseypur' for Anurag Kashyap. Now I am doing 'Mountain Man' for Ketan. That is it. I have six to seven scenes," he said.

Incidentally, Dhulia is a trained actor from the National School of Drama.

"And just to set the record straight, 'Gangs Of Wasseypur' is technically not my acting debut. I had one shot with Shah Rukh Khan in Mani Ratnam's 'Dil Se...'."