India, Sept. 10 -- Having earned acclaim for his performance in Netflix's Inspector Zende this week, Manoj Bajpayee will soon be back to doing what he does best - enthralling audiences on the big screen in an independent film. His next release is Jugnuma (earlier titled The Fable), which has earned praises at film festivals around the world, and is now releasing in Indian theatres.

Ahead of the film's release, Manoj Bajpayee sits down with Hindustan Times to talk about why the film is special to him and the state of independent cinema in India.

Jugnuma, directed by Raam Reddy, is set in the hills in 1989 and merges magical realism with the chills of a thriller. Talking about what drew him to the film, Manoj says, "The USP is the storyte...