For an actor who has spent decades inhabiting gangsters, politicians, policemen and ordinary men caught in extraordinary circumstances, Manoj Bajpayee found himself in unfamiliar terrain for his role in Governor, where he plays S Venkitaramanan, the former RBI governor who found himself at the centre of India’s 1990 balance-of-payments crisis. For Bajpayee, understanding the man meant grappling with a subject he admits was never his strength.
“I am not a student of economics,” he says. “So when I took up the role, I learnt about GDP, physical deficit and payment-of-balance extensively.” This, he adds, helped him learn the character’s body language and mental state. The deeper he went into Venkitaramanan’s story, the more he became fascinated by the enormity of his decision. The move to send India’s gold reserves abroad is often remembered as one of the defining moments of the economic crisis, but Bajpayee resists framing it as an act of heroism. “More than bold, it was the craziest step,” he says. “He knew there was no other alternative.”
Finding the man behind the story proved difficult. Unlike many public figures whose lives are extensively documented, Venkitaramanan left behind few visual references for Bajpayee to study
Finding the man behind the story proved difficult. Unlike many public figures whose lives are extensively documented, Venkitaramanan left behind few visual references. “There were hardly any videos on him,” Bajpayee says. “I read whatever material was available.” The lack of archival footage forced the actor to build the character through research and observation rather than imitation, reaching out to bureaucrat friends to learn more about the their professions.
The challenge extended to language as well. Venkitaramanan was a Tamilian who spent much of his professional life in Mumbai, and Bajpayee was conscious of striking the right balance. “We had to remember that we were making a film for Hindi audiences,” he says. At the same time, he wanted to remain respectful of the character’s cultural identity. “So, we have kept the accent but in minimal portions,” Bajpayee says. Guiding much of that process was director Chinmay Mandlekar, whose experience as an actor proved valuable. “Only an actor knows what another actor is going through when facing the camera,” Bajpayee says. “So in that sense, Chinmay was a great help.”
Three decades into his career, Bajpayee remains remarkably free of the pressures that often come with success. “Why will I pressurise myself? That’s the producer’s job,” he quips. His concern, he says, is limited to the performance. “I have the pressure to try and be authentic, unique and do justice to the role. I don’t worry about anything more than that.”
Known for roles in films such as Aligarh, Gangs of Wasseypur, and Gali Guleiyan, the pursuit of variety has often kept Bajpayee away from mainstream commercial cinema. “I have got a lot of offers, but I didn’t do them,” he says. Yet he doesn’t rule out lighter films in the future. “As we grow older, we start facing physical and mental problems due to injuries. I will do roles that are light and frivolous then.”Awards, for Bajpayee, are fleeting moments rather than defining achievements. “Awards are momentary,” he says. “Enjoy that moment and savour it, but don’t attach too much importance to it.”
What continues to fascinate Bajpayee are the stories hidden behind ordinary faces, and occasionally, the extraordinary men who alter the course of a nation’s history.