Manoj Bajpayee addresses rumours of taking vodka shots before every scene: ‘Bewakoofo, how can that be my secret to acting?’

Manoj Bajpayee is a spirited performer, but contrary to rumours in the film industry, the actor says he doesn’t need to be high on spirits to act. Bajpayee says he was baffled to know that actors in the industry believe a myth that he takes vodka shots before every scene, and that this helps him perform. In an interview with Unfiltered by Samdish, Bajpayee said he takes swigs of a homeopathic medicine straight from the bottle, which has perhaps led people to assume that he is drinking before every shot, as part of his prep.

“Once I was shooting for a film so a junior girl asked me, ‘Sir what is it that you drink?’ I told her, ‘Yaar dawayi hai ye (this is medicine).’ She then told me, ‘In our gang of actors, there is a myth that you do vodka shots before performing any scene!’ I said, ‘Bewakoofo, jo main mehnat kar raha hu woh tumhe dikhayi nahi de raha hai! Tumne homeopathy medicine ko vodka shots bana diya, acting ka raaz woh kaise ho sakta hai (You fools, can’t you see the hard work that I do. You have turned homeopathy medicine into vodka shots– how can that anyway be my reason for acting?).”

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Bajpayee, who is one of the finest actors of the country, lamented the lack of appreciation a good performance gets. Citing the example of his acclaimed 2017 feature Gali Guleiyan, the actor said his performance was awarded internationally, but went completely unnoticed at home. “There was no nomination, I only got international awards. Yaha toh gha**a. Yaha aap nange ho ke naachlo, kuch farak nahi padne waala aur sharam bhi nahi aati hai (Here even if you dance naked, they won’t be bothered and they won’t even feel ashamed),” he added.

Manoj Bajpayee was recently seen in the ZEE5 film Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai.