Telugu film Mirai has been nothing short of a homecoming for Manchu Manoj. The 42-year-old actor had been out of the limelight for a long time, but 2025 brought two releases in close succession, offering some respite to his fans and well-wishers.While the first of the two films, Bhairavam, couldn’t forge the comeback he sought, Karthik Gattamneni’s ambitious fantasy-adventure, Mirai, turned things around quite emphatically. Manoj plays the chief antagonist, Mahabir Lama, or‘Black Sword’, in the film, which also stars Teja Sajja, Shriya Saran and others, and audiences have showered him with a lot of love and praise for his spirited performance. He speaks to SCREEN about the character, its future in the potential franchise, and also shares a few personal insights. Edited excerpts:What can you tell me about the reception you have been receiving for Mirai?It’s been phenomenal. My family, especially my mother, is incredibly pleased with the success, though I have received the best compliment from my son. My son was only three years old when I began prepping for the role, so he has seen the journey in a way and has grown to be his fan today. He saw me all along as Black Sword, forgetting that I am his father (laughs).Even though you play the antagonist in the film, the audience has responded very positively to the role as well as your performance. What attracted you to the part in the first place?It was Karthik Gattamneni’s vision, which blew me away when I first heard it. Personally, I have been very keen on telling culturally-rooted stories to children, and have been engaged in that in many different ways. The task, though, is to make these stories interesting and exciting for the new-age kids, and you see films like Kalki 2898 A.D. doing something novel there. I worked on my character, Mahabir Lama, for nearly 5 years, so when Kalki came around, I was happy to see their inventiveness work well.I also saw Lama as the modern-day Ravanasura. Even though you see elements of Japanese culture in Black Sword – the Dojo, the martial arts, the sword fighting, etc. – the ethos of the character belongs to Ravana, who employed many different tactics in his pursuits and was, in general, a sophisticated antagonist.Story continues below this adAny reservations about playing the bad guy for a change?No, none at all. What helps is the story justifying who he (Black Sword) becomes and his actions through a backstory, so I didn’t really see him as “negative” at any point. In contrast, I’d call him the ‘anti-force’ of the story.Also Read | Mirai movie review: Teja Sajja and Manchu Manoj deliver a generic yet engaging filmWas there any special prep involved to play the role?Story continues below this adI trusted my director completely, and the entire conception is his. That said, I have always been an admirer and student of martial arts. Even when I wasn’t working for a few years in between, I moved to Phuket, Thailand, with Abishek Ambareesh to train in mixed martial arts for a couple of months. For Mirai, I was already proficient to a certain level in sword and stick fighting. I trained with Master Jackson, from Hyderabad, and with Master Raja, from Auroville, on Kalaripayattu to get that ‘swag’ or rhythm for the character.Moreover, aside from the physical part of things, I found myself attracted to Mahabir Lama because I feel his ideology towards the world matches mine: we both are against casteism, inheritance, linguistic and geographical barriers, and so on. Except that I wouldn’t ever choose violence, but he does – and that’s the only difference.You have said that there are many questions unanswered regarding the future of your character. Can you tell us what Karthik Gattamneni has in store for it?I asked my son this question after he watched the film: “Did you see him (Black Sword) die?” The answer was a no, and also considering the character had the ninth book by the end of the film, one can certainly expect him to be explored further in the future. Karthik, too, has said in an interview and discussed with me as well that he envisions a series, of sorts, to take things forward. The ideas he has are ‘mental’, and I’m very excited to rediscover the character (laughs).Story continues below this adYou have also spoken recently about your love for action movies. Would it be fair to say that Mirai is your first bona fide action film, given the kind of choreography involved?If you mean in a superhero-like setup, yes, this is the first of its kind for me. But I recently remarked that Indian heroes are superheroes regardless of the worlds and the stories, because we have always been fighting mid-air using wires and whatnot. Except that I haven’t used wires or riggers, and have largely performed/directed my own stunts.What are some of your favourite action movies?All of Jackie Chan’s films, for sure. Then Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Kill Bill 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004), the first instalments of The Expendables (2010) and Extraction (2020), and Nobody (2021). Not to forget, the war sequence in Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017), which tops everything!Speaking of the break you took from movies a few years ago, did you miss acting in that phase?Story continues below this adI did miss acting, but I had taken a voluntary break from it as I wanted to shift my focus elsewhere. I began acting as a child artiste at the age of 11, and turned into a leading man at 19. Cinema was always my world, and I didn’t get to lead a normal life like most others. But even though I returned to work after 4 years, the Covid-19 lockdowns extended the break, and here I am, nine years later.Did the break also give you a new perspective towards your work? And how much does the praise for Mirai mean to you today?Absolutely, it’s an entirely new perspective. This Manoj feels like a different person compared to that guy. So, (naturally), the praise for Mirai means the world to me. This is a Jersey-like moment in my life because the world didn’t believe in me at one point, nor did the people I expected to. Yet, I found friends who stood by me, and my fans and well-wishers wanted me to win even when, at times, I lost faith in myself.What can you tell us about the other projects in the pipeline?Story continues below this adThere’s David Reddy (a historical action-drama), directed by Hanuma Reddy Yakkanti. Music composer Ravi Basrur and editor Ujwal Kulkarni, both of KGF fame, are part of the film. The second would be Abraham Lincoln, a horror-action film along the lines of Constantine (2025) to be shot in Kerala and the UK. I’d be happy to do feel-good films like Prayanam (2009) as well.