New Delhi, Dec 7: How does a farmer’s son from a Bihar village reach the pinnacle of his dreams in starry Mumbai where a million hopes are dashed and met every day. Manoj Bajpayee has the answer — just be “intelligently stubborn”.
The actor, who has successfully owned both commercial and arthouse cinema as well as the big screen and the small with roles as diverse as Bhiku Mhatre in “Satya” and Srikant Tiwari in “The Family Man”, says he soon understood that circumstances can break those not committed to their dreams.
The boy from Belwa, who in many ways embodies the fairytale success story that could well be the plot of one of his films, figured it out early.
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“You have to be intelligently stubborn and audacious. I say stubborn because otherwise circumstances and situations challenge you at every moment and make you doubt yourself,” Bajpayee told PTI in an interview during a visit to the news agency’s headquarters.
“There is a saying, ‘you take four steps back before you take a leap’. I have not been too much in love with myself. I understood the circumstances.”
After the breakout role in the 1998 underworld drama “Satya”, directed by Ram Gopal Varma and still remembered for Bajpayee’s portrayal of gangster Bhiku Mhatre, the offers came rolling in. All in the same mould. And Bajpayee wanted none of it. “I was very stubborn about not getting typecast… The industry didn’t know what to offer me and thought if he is refusing, then offer a lot of money… but I knew I would not be a villain because if I do it then they will not let me come out of it ever,” the 55-year-old said.
“I knew this even at that age,” he added citing the legendary actors Pran and Ajeet who found it near impossible to come out of the villain bracket. Bajpayee, who will next be seen in the role of investigative journalist Joy Bag in director Kanu Behl’s “Despatch”, slated for release on ZEE5 on December 13, said he understands that people have different destinies and destinations.
“If Manoj Bajpayee reached a certain point in his career, the same can be said about Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Irrfan Khan or Kay Kay Menon. You don’t need to emulate anyone.”
Growing up with showbiz dreams as one of six siblings, Bajpayee said his farmer father didn’t have the resources to support his ambitions. Bajpayee travelled to Delhi when he was just 17, pursued a college education as his mother wanted, did theatre and then landed up in Mumbai.
He debuted with a small role in Govind Nihalani’s “Drohkaal” in 1994 and was first noticed in Shekhar Kapur’s “Bandit Queen” the same year. The big break was “Satya” where everyone sat up and noticed the youngster.
It propelled him into the big league, launching a three-decade career that is going as strong as ever. Along the way have been films such as “Shool”, “Zubeida”, “Rajneeti”, “Gangs of Wasseypur”, “Aligarh” and “Sonchiriya”. He did an easy segue into the small screen with “Gulmohar”, “Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai” and the web show “The Family Man” now ready for its third season.
The success of “Satya” was “humongous”, said Bajpayee. It changed not just his trajectory and the way cinema was viewed but also the lives of many young people back home. The journey from a small village to the silver screen gave others the courage to explore vistas beyond home, achieve success and not just in the movies. (PTI)
