World premiere of Manoj Bajpayee-starrer Joram at Rotterdam fest

Joram starring Manoj Bajpayee will have its world premiere in the Big Screen Competition section at the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The film festival is to be held from January 26 to February 6 in the Netherlands.

Directed by Devashish Makhija, this is the third collaboration between the director and Bajpayee after their short film Tandav and the 2020 feature Bhonsle, for which the actor got the National Award for best actor.

Recounting his experience, Bajpayee said: "It is a riveting story of a man torn between his past and present. I loved playing the intricate character, Darsu, who, on the outside, looks like an ordinary man who people may not even notice, but in no way is he a common man. A brilliant story with such impactful characters!"

The film also stars Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub, Smita Tambe and Megha Mathur, and features Tannishtha Chatterjee and Rajshri Deshpande as guest appearances.

Ayyub said about his role: "I play Ratnakar, a city-bred cop, who is low on the social ladder and therefore among his colleagues too. Being a city-bred person myself, to me this film, especially my first-ever trip into the forests to shoot it and the iron ore mines, made me realise how much of 'me' was in Ratnakar -- that my access to education and middle-class angst was a luxury compared to the bleak, stark and forever-on-the-edge lives the truly underprivileged live daily."

Presented by Zee Studios, Joram will be released in India in 2023.