The actor will essay roles of cinema legends in his theatrical tribute

Mahesh Manjrekar, who gave into repeated persuasion by Salman Khan to act in his films (Ready, Dabangg and Bodyguard), has now decided to turn his attention to theatre.

The director will be soon seen paying a theatrical tribute to stalwarts of Indian cinema, both Hindi and Marathi.

Says Mahesh, "Yes, I am planning a series of stage biographies on the masters of Indian cinema."

Starting with V Shantaram and Sudhir Phadke, MM would be playing the lead in all the segments.

"I'm studying the lives of each one in detail before playing the characters, who gave character and personality to our cinema," he further adds.

Taking stock

Says a source, "For too long now, Mahesh has felt a lacuna in our audience in the understanding of how our cinema evolved and who all helped give it its shape.

He has also felt an emptiness inside him as an actor because of the roles he has been doing. It's time for him to take stock of the situation."