‘Last Man in Tower’: How Ben Rekhi’s ‘outsider’ gaze places Manoj Bajpayee at the heart of Mumbai’s redevelopment horror

The filmmaker discusses what went into adapting Aravind Adiga’s book, the suggestions he receieved from the writer, why he thinks Manoj Bajpayee is an intuitive actor and more

Updated - September 15, 2026 02:32 pm IST

Ben Rekhi and Manoj Bajpayee’s still from ‘Last Man in Tower’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A stout battle between the old and new deconstructs the anxieties of the urban middle class dream in Ben Rekhi’s Last Man in Tower. The feeble, lifeless and singularly revolting voice of its frail protagonist, Masterji (Manoj Bajpayee) becomes an extension of his old housing society’s slow decay, which has witnessed the erosion of values and morals in its residents dampen the stature of its own cracked walls. The neighbours are pitted against Masterji as he is resolute to fight against the whims of the builder, Dharmen Shah (Boman Irani), whose plans to make a huge tower lulls everyone else to comply.

“If this was a film from the ‘70s or ‘80s, everyone would get behind Masterji and throw that builder out. But in 2026, its every man for himself and in many ways the residents are tempted by the villain,” says Ben over a virtual conversation. The film captures the sorrow that comes with the loss of empathy and death of conscience, and how individuals are pitted against their friends and families over a larger capitalistic dream. Its burning concerns feel stirringly contemporary where the rising heights of modernity have brought a blinding resolve to human values.

“These days, we value money above everything. In the past, money was of course important, but things like community, tradition and morality had equal weight with material things,” Ben says stressing on the materialistic turn that the world has taken in recent times. “You are told to climb the ladder at any cost. If someone is standing in your way, you are told its okay to bulldoze over them if your survival depends on it. We are on this race towards the future and progress but what are we giving up in the process?”

Masterji represents that lonely lamp of idealism against the sturdy winds of change brought about by capitalism. Ben feels that the rate of change has been fast not just for the older generation of Masterji but also for the younger folks in terms of the shifting nature of technology, social media, politics, climate and AI — all of which he describes as being “intensely disorienting”. “That disorientation is the heart of the film. Even if it took us ten years to make, it has come out just at the right moment. It’s quite rare that these changes in the outer world overlap with the themes of the film as it has seen such a long journey. It’s become bigger than us now. We would have never expected for the timing to be so perfect,” Ben says.

Manoj Bajpayee in ‘Last Man in Tower’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The filmmaker credits writer Aravind Adiga for being “ahead of his times” for seeing these nuances early on. Ben had been a fan of Adiga’s Booker Prize winning debut novel, The White Tiger and was introduced to Last Man in Tower by a friend. He was “blown away” after reading it. “If The White Tiger was this loud debut, Last Man in Tower was like a quiet whisper that revealed a lot more complexity,” he opines as he reflects about adapting the novel. Ben was fascinated with Adiga’s distinctive literary voice, which he describes as being rooted in satire and “based in reality where everything is quirky and heightened.”

After reading Last Man in Tower, he reached out to the author to officiate the process of adaptation, long before The White Tiger was made into a film. Ben then sought the help of Sooni Taraporevala for the adaptation of the 430 pager, knowing that she would “bring great wisdom” from her earlier experience in bringing books to screen with Such a Long Journey and The Namesake.

“We developed it for several years. There were different false starts and going back and forth. It was really when The White Tiger became a film on Netflix that there was a lot of interest in Adiga’s other books,” Ben says, reflecting on the arduous process of writing the film and how initially, they were considering to make a limited series to make sense of the novel’s detailed landscape with richer back stories of characters.

Manoj Bajpayee in ‘Last Man in Tower’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“The hardest part was deciding what to lose because you couldn’t keep it all. That’s where a great writer comes in. Sooni was so good at the economy of storytelling of taking three chapters and putting its essence into two lines of dialogue,” Ben says.