'...Wadala' didn't require hard work, says Manoj

Manoj Bajpai, who will be seen as Zubair Imtiaz Haskar in Sanjay Gupta's forthcoming crime thriller "Shootout At Wadala", didn't have to put in much effort for the character.

In the film, Manoj's character is based on fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim's elder brother Sabir Kaskar, who was instrumental in creating the underworld in the 1980s and is said to be one of the most flamboyant gangsters.

The gangster drama shows various characters from that world, including Manya Surve, a gangster who was shot down in Mumbai Police's maiden official encounter.

"I didn't do much hard work for (my character in) the film. I went on doing whatever the director asked me to do. I didin't do anything like doing research for the character and all," Manoj said here in an interview.

"If you feel that I did a lot of research, didn't sleep for four months... no nothing like that," added the actor, known for his power-packed performances as Bhiku Mhatre in "Satya", Rashid in "Pinjar", Sardar Khan in "Gangs Of Wasseypur" and Wasim Khan in "Special 26", among others.

Set for May 3 release, "Shootout At Wadala" is based on the book "Dongri to Dubai" written by Hussain Zaidi. The film also features John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Tusshar Kapoor, Mahesh Manjrekar and Kangna Ranaut.

Manoj praised Gupta for his own genre.

"He (Gupta) shoots the films in a unique way and also keeps some special expectation from his actors in terms of performance. So, an actor's task was to carry forward his vision and also justify the book. This is what I have done," he said.