Tell us about the film, Manjunath. The film is based on a real story; it is about S Manjunath, who was killed for taking a stand against the oil mafia in Lakhimpur Kheri.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2014/jul/09-Manjunath.jpg" alt="" />
The place is part of the Indian hinterland where illegal gun shops have mushroomed and murders have become commonplace. No one seemed to take up his case, since Manjunath&rsquo;s family was poor. So a stranger came forward to fight for him and his family; he even won the case. To me, this story was an inspiration. I wanted to tell everyone that Manjunath is the real hero. Hence, I made this film.
<img title="Sandeep Varma" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2014/jul/09-Sandeep-Varma.jpg" alt="Sandeep Varma" /> Director Sandeep Varma 
How did you cast for the film? My casting was performance oriented. I wanted to focus on the character of Manjunath. I never wanted to cast established actors. After auditioning around 100 people, I found the ideal Manjunath when I was in Bangalore. His name is Satish Sarthi and he is from Mumbai. I conducted a four months&rsquo; acting workshop with him and we were then ready to shoot.
What challenges did you face during the making of the film? Getting all the facts right wasn&rsquo;t easy, so I did intensive research for two and half years. No one can point fingers at the story&rsquo;s authenticity. I also faced some problems with funding; initially, I had to borrow money from friends and family. Later on, Viacom&rsquo;s support saw me through.
What is the USP of the film? Other than the story, the film&rsquo;s USP is its music. Three members of the Delhi-based rock band Parikrama &mdash; Sonam Sherpa, Nitin Malik and Subir Malik &mdash; have given the music of the film, which has been widely appreciated. The songs have been sung by KK, Shankar Mahadevan and Papon.

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Director Sandeep Varma talks about his film that is based on a real-life incident

'Manjunath is the real hero'

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'Manjunath is the real hero'

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