Manoj Bajpayee, currently lauded for his act in the short film 'Ouch', says he yearns for crisp acting and likes to challenge himself with different roles.

In 'Ouch', he plays a middle-aged man caught between the domestic pull of his family life and the lure of the forbidden.

Talking about the kind of roles that interest him, Manoj said in a statement: "Crisp acting is something I yearn for and I like to challenge myself with different roles that demand different things from me."

"It makes me work towards being more versatile and cross my last mark. I have been very blessed that I have been able to do what I have stated above and have been receiving so much love for it."

He said he always wanted to explore the possibilities of short films as he feels they are more challenging. "You have to communicate a story and pass on the emotions in much lesser time than you get in feature films. It's really overwhelming to learn that my performances in short films are being loved and acknowledged by not only the audiences globally, but also by the critics and members of the film fraternity," said the National Award-winning actor.

Manoj was honoured with the Best Actor award for his performance in the short film 'Taandav' at the Flamingo Film festival earlier this year. He also received Best Actor award for 'Ouch', directed by Neeraj Pandey, at the Delhi Shorts International Film Festival.