Mumbai, Feb 14 (IANS): National Award winning actor Manoj Bajpayee, who is gearing up for his upcoming release 'Gulmohar' and plays actress Sharmila Tagore's son Arun Batra in the film, shared a fan moment which he had with the veteran actress. The actor is so fond of songs from the actress's films that he kept singing them on the sets of 'Gulmohar'.

Recollecting his first meeting with the senior actress, Manoj said, "When I met Sharmila ji for the first time, I was thrilled and excited and told her that I had watched many of her old films while growing up to which Sharmila ji told me, "Manoj just calm down."

Sharing another nugget, Manoj said, "Somehow the songs from her films would stay in my head, and often I would hear myself humming the songs like 'Jab bhi ji chahe nayi duniya basa lete hai log' from the film 'Daag,' and every time it happened I realised she was either crossing me or standing behind me while I was singing the songs."

He added, "After a couple of times it happened, Sharmila ji told me in mock anger, Manoj, I will beat you. I cherish these memories from the set. And the fact she responds to my messages after the film is over, I get the warm feeling that her affection for me is like that of a real family."

'Gulmohar', directed by Rahul Chittella, and also starring Amol Palekar, Simran, Suraj Sharma, Kaveri Seth and Utsavi Jha, is set to release on March 3, 2023, only on Disney+ Hotstar.