Today is the death anniversary of Dashrath Manjhi, whose life inspired the film Manjhi: The Mountain Man. In his hometown Gehlaur today, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui (who plays the title role) opens up on the film.

What drew you towards the film?
The script and the fact that it's a true-life account of the late Dashrath Manjhi, an ordinary man from Gehlaur, Bihar, who spent 22 years of his life carving a path through a mountain, without any help. True life events are highly inspiring. Sadly, not many people know about him and his extraordinary feat. This film will help change that. It will connect with people as it's a deeply humane tale.

It seems relevant in today's society, right?
We have forgotten what it is to help others. However, there are those who continue to hope and they mostly hail from smaller villages like Dashrath Manjhi. He passed away on August 17, 2007. The road he made has been benefiting so many people even today. At a time when people are getting extremely self-centered, the film awakens your conscience and humanity. It's time we appreciate our real heroes.

How challenging was it to portray Dashrath Manjhi on screen?
He was a superman, without any super powers. I met his son to know more about him, his ideologies and thoughts.This is the first time I am doing a biopic and it is the most challenging role I have done so far.Manjhi was passionate about his mission and purpose in life. To get into the mind of a person like him, who was driven by love and had thatpagalpan(certain degree of madness) was quite exhausting. You live the life of the character you play. It took me two months after the shoot was over to get out of it. After the film wrapped up, I went to Jaisalmer for a fortnight to free my mind.