Despite winning many accolades in a career spanning over 15 years, Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee’s journey can hardly be said to have been easy. “After getting introduced in Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen, there was a complete lull for five years,” said Bajpayee, in a chat arranged as part of Indulge Time Pass, a series of webinars organised by The New Indian Express group, and hosted by senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai.
Bhiku Mhatre, his National Award-winning role in Satya, gave the actor hope. “Actors from small towns and directors who wanted to tell new stories found a lot of strength from Satya,” added Bajpayee. “Before 1998, there were only commercial films. This was an industry where someone with a face like mine didn’t get any films at all. When I started acting, I had to say ‘no’ a lot because I didn’t want to get typecast. We have fragile egos in our industry and when we say no, especially to a bigwig, they don’t forget so easily.
Our industry was focused on box-office returns. Finally, I got Raajneeti, and my career restarted.” Bajpayee says he gained his acting prowess in his early years in Delhi where he was part of many theatre plays. “They were the busiest days of my life even though I didn’t get a penny. Whenever my bank balance bothered me, I would do a film role. I realised then that I needed to work on my evolution as an actor, and films like Aarakshan, Special 26, and Gangs of Wasseypur speak of the change in my approach. Acting is a constantly changing art. We have to keep upgrading ourselves.
I watch a lot of international films and OTT content. I remain open to knowing what others are doing and learning from them.” The actor is happy staying away from ‘camps’ and has even stopped going to parties. “I am not ready to sacrifice my middle-class life. I love talking to the vegetable vendor. I feel alive when talking to people in the streets and I love it when they don’t recognise me.” Bajpayee’s latest film, Bhonsle, is what he also co-produced. “When I met Devashish Makhija and got to know the script, I was blown away. It had writing that was uncompromised. I tried to find producers, but they ran away after hearing the script. The making of Bhonsle can itself be made into a book,” said Bajpayee.