Manoj Bajpayee breaks silence on losing National Award to Shah Rukh Khan; says awards are losing respect: ‘It’s a loser conversation’

Shah Rukh Khan bagged his first-ever National Award for Jawan, while Manoj Bajpayee has previously won the honour for his debut film Satya, followed by Pinjar (2003) and Aligarh (2016).

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | Updated: September 15, 2025 12:39 PM IST

3 min read

Manoj Bajpayee talks about on losing National Award to Shah Rukh Khan. (Pic: IMDb)

The announcement of Shah Rukh Khan winning the Best Actor National Award for Jawan was met with massive celebration among his fans as social media was flooded with congratulatory messages for the star. However, a section of the audience felt the decision was unfair and pointed out how Manoj Bajpayee delivered a far more powerful performance in Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and deserved the award instead.

Now, Manoj has addressed the comparisons with SRK and the latter’s National Award win. He told India Today, “It is useless conversation because it is gone. When it comes to Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, yes, it is a very special film in my filmography and so was Joram. They are going to be on top of my filmography. But I don’t discuss these things because it is a very loser conversation. It is in the past and it should be left alone.”

Speaking about how National Awards are losing their relevance and moving more towards commercial cinema, Manoj, who is himself a National Award recipient in the past, shared his opinion and said, “It’s not just about national awards. It’s about all the awards that were revered. They should seriously think about how they are operating. Because it is not about my respect, I take care of my respect very cautiously when I’m choosing a film and I’m very responsible to the actor that I am. But each and every organisation have to think of themselves, that’s not my job. If somebody else is losing their respect, they should think about it.”

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Manoj admitted that he does not believe in the very idea of an award show because of the vast diversity of films and performances across genres and languages. “I think for me, the idea of an award show is wrong,” he said. Manoj also explained that he attends award shows only out of respect for the organisers but does not take winning one too seriously. “It is just a piece of decoration in your house. Everyday you are not going to stand in front of it and say ‘wow, I got this’.”

This marks the first time Shah Rukh Khan has won a National Award. Manoj, on the other hand, has won the honour for his debut film Satya, as well as for Pinjar in 2003, and later for Aligarh in 2016.

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