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Manoj Bajpai
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“This whole ‘insiders-outsiders’ talk is futile… nobody should feel privileged just because they are the son or daughter of so and so.” – Manoj Bajpayee
One of Bollywood’s most versatile actors, Manoj Bajpayee has received many accolades and adulation in his career spanning 27 years. He is multi-talented, passionate and has a knack of understanding his craft so well that he invariably gets into the skin of the character he plays. In a candid interview with Nikita Nikhil, Manoj talks about his film ‘Silence Can You Hear It?’, the future of cinema and the whole insiders v/s outsiders debate. Read on…
You are extremely versatile and can essay various shades with ease. In fact, you ace every role that you play. Is there a particular secret mantra behind it?
I don’t know if there is a secret mantra for this, but one thing I do know is that I don’t judge any genre or insist I should play just characters of just one particular genre. I believe that an actor should understand each and every genre and the requirements of it. One has to be ready with the craft and the skill and the passion to do justice to each and every role spanning any genre. So that’s what I follow and that keeps me interested all the time. If I do two or three independent films in a row, I want to get out and do something else. So I just do something middle of the stream or mainstream to keep myself fresh and interested in acting all the time. …And all these different directors keep me on my toes as they have different opinions about acting, different definitions of cinema …and I love it! I love to meet their expectations with my own craft and understand it.
Your film ‘Silence… Can You Hear It?’ is creating quite a buzz. What inspired you to select this film?
This is a murder mystery - something that I have never done before. I was on the lookout for one with a well-written script. Aban Deohans is a very old friend of mine and her husband K.D. (Kiran Deohans) too. I have known them since the time I started working for the film Aks. K.D. was the cinematographer. When Aban gave me this script, I was completely intrigued. That’s why I decided I’ll go ahead and do this film. Of course, it was also an intention to support her and give her days on priority and adjust with her requirements and finish it as quickly as possible. And that’s exactly what I have done. Now we are ready with the film and it’s an interesting film, very intriguing. It will really keep your mind engaged. It’s going to be on Zee5 and will be quite a ride for the audience that I’m very sure about.
Anubhav Sinha keeps threatening me that he is going to come back again whenever he finds the right song.”
You worked with Prachi Desai and Arjun Mathur for this film. How was your experience?
Prachi Desai is a star in her own right. She has done so well on television and has become a household name. And in films, she has done quite well so it always a pleasure and also an opportunity to know the person who has done extremely well in their career and how they look at the profession, how they hold the definition of their career. She is a fun-loving person and was quite chirpy, smiling and very caring at the same time. Arjun Mathur - I have been an admirer of his work since the time he started appearing in ads, I have been following his work. He is a very sincere and intelligent actor. He knows he’s tough. We sat down together on many occasions to share notes. So, it was great working with both of them. And not just them, there is Sahil Vaid, who is kind of a King of dubbing nowadays. And also, there is Vaquar Shaikh who has such a fantastic presence and a very genuine person that I have come across. Then there’s Shishir, I have worked with him in Swabhimaan and now I’ve got a chance to work with him again. There are so many actors - superlatives ones and they just fit the part and that’s why they were cast in the first place. It was my pleasure and an opportunity to collaborate with such talents.
Now that it’s the era of the OTT, what do you think is the future of cinema?
The future of cinema is always going to be the same as it was. It’s just that it is taking time to come back to normalcy because coronavirus is behaving in a very unpredictable way, that is pushing people inside or making them quite apprehensive about going to the theatres. Till then yes, you have only one medium of entertainment and that is OTT - it has such large storage of films and series that people choose to stick at home and not venture out. But when cinema halls really come back to normalcy, it will all be just fine. Both the mediums will survive and thrive in their own respective ways. I believe that they will affect and influence each other.
You released a rap song on the plight of migrant workers ‘Bambai Main Ka Ba’ and it was an absolute hit. Do you have any other plans of entering the music industry?
“Bambai Main Ka Ba” was just a chance that I got from Anubhav Sinha. It was written so well and I speak Bhojpuri, that’s my mother tongue. I related to all the lines, all the ideas, and that kind of propelled me to just go ahead and try out something which is just not my scene at all. I am not a good singer but I am a great lover of good poetry. And the poetry was written so well by Dr Sagar. So I thought let’s go ahead and have fun and also pay tribute to all the migrants and their plight. I don’t know when will it happen again but Anubhav Sinha keeps threatening me that he is going to come back again whenever he finds the right song. So let’s see, never say no to anything. If there is something that’s really resonating with you, one would definitely go ahead and do it.
I believe that an actor should understand each and every genre and the requirements of it.”
‘Secrets of Sinauli’ is of a completely different genre from that you have worked in until now. What made you choose this documentary?
Secrets of Sinauli is a COVID documentary for Discovery which I anchored during the lockdown. This was from my friend Neeraj Pandey and it was also a chance to sit with him and interact with him after a long time and work in a production which is monitored and mentored by him. It’s a part of history which was discovered just now and I knew about the news because it had come out a long way back that the villagers had run away with all the artifacts that they had found in their fields. And then the ASI got interested in this site -and they have been excavating and the findings are historical. So, I found it quite an experience in the sense that you come to understand what happened 4,000 years back. It is going to be quite an eye-opener. I would urge each and everyone to sit with their family and watch this documentary. It is not only educational but will also unravel so many other things that we didn’t know.
I would urge each and everyone to sit with their family and watch this documentary ‘Secrets of Sinauli’.”
Past records show that people have a lot of expectations from sequels. Does Family Man 2 have the same kind of pressure?
If you start taking it as a responsibility or get stressed that you have to meet the expectations of Season One, then you are going to fall down. It’s always better to start fresh and treat it as a new series.
When we started streaming Season one of Family Man, we were already through with the Chennai schedule of Season two.”
This is exactly what we have done. Family Man 2 was ready when the first Season was ready. Raj and DK worked in advance. They don’t write anything just because it was done well. When we started streaming Season one, we were already through with the Chennai schedule of Season two. So this is the right way to go about sequels, to write things in advance so your mind is not influenced and you are not trying to please anyone. So you actually doing it for the good of the script, you are trying to do justice with the script. This is exactly what we have followed in Season 2 and that is why it has become such an interesting one. I would say that it is going to be very exciting for the audience when Season 2 starts streaming.
We as an industry should only focus on talent and nothing else and make it more democratic and make it healthier.”
You hail from a small village and come from a humble background. I read in an interview that during your struggling days, you were close to taking your own life. Making a mark in this industry was tough for you or in other words, you were an outsider. What are your thoughts on the whole insiders vs outsiders debate?
This ‘insider-outsider’ talk started nearly 20 years ago and it is something that was unnecessary. I somehow feel that the people who started doing this are very insecure people. Now that this is blown out of proportion, I really find it so futile to talk about it. Each and every insider was an outsider, their parents have come from outside to work in this industry. It is never about privilege. I always say whether you are an outsider or an insider, this industry should only focus on talent. Anybody can be talented, an insider can be talented, an outsider can be talented. Nobody should feel privileged here just because they are the son or daughter of so and so. We as an industry should only focus on talent and nothing else and make it more democratic and make it healthier. This whole insiders-outsiders talk is all futile and we should really not encourage it that much. We should encourage talent instead of these kinds of inane and mundane topics.
