Mumbai, Feb 22 (IANS): Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who is receiving wider acclaim for portraying the character of a gay professor in his forthcoming film “Aligarh”, says that doing the film was very challenging for him.

“Aligarh” is a film based on the real life incident of Dr. Srinivas Ramchandra Siras, who was suspended from his job because of his sexual orientation.

Talking about the character, Manoj, who plays the protagonist in the film, told reporters: "It's most challenging film because I have never done such a character before.”

“ 'Aligarh' was a very challenging film for me because it was fragile and different. It was very difficult to capture the loneliness and state of mind of Ramchandra Siras,” he added.

The film, which is scheduled to release on February 26, is directed by Hansal Mehta and actor Rajkumar Rao will be seen playing a journalist in it.

Revealing more about the film, Manoj said: "The script, the character, his life which went unnoticed are a few points which grabbed my attention. I realised that its a great script and character and if I do it well, it will be an amazing milestone in my career. I feel that one will see many more films like 'Aligarh' coming up in days to come."