Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS): Manoj Bajpayee's character in "Satyagraha" has shades of grey and humour as well and he says that the presence of the two different elements convinced him to take up the role.

"When you get something challenging, you just go ahead and pick up the challenge. The two elements of hatred and laughter compelled me to do the film," Manoj told IANS.

It was not easy for the actor to emote both the shades.

"It's a unique combination, but it was a tough combination to crack. It was quite a lot of hard work as well as a lot fun on the set," he said and added: "It was very different from what I have done till now. This character is cunning and clever."

Manoj, who has been seen in films like "Gangs Of Wasseypur", "Pinjar", "Veer-Zaara", and "Raajneeti", has been applauded for acting abilities over the years.

Directed by Prakash Jha, "Satyagraha" also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, and Amrita Rao among others and it coming out Aug 30.