Manoj Bajpayee has to ‘beg’ exhibitors for extra shows amid Bollywood oppression, still struggles to get funds for movies: ‘Shooting ke paise nahi hain’

Also read – Jugnuma The Fable movie review: Manoj Bajpayee delivers one of his all-time best performances

He said that his responsibility extended to securing money to make the film, and then finding partners who would agree to show it. “So, I used to give all those great shot; shots that were celebrated, analysed… But nobody knows that after the shot, I used to get inside my van, and call possible financers. ‘Paise de do, 10 din ke baad shooting karne ke paise nahi hain‘. When you do films like this, my responsibility increases. I have to get funding and distribution; I have gone to the point of begging exhibitors to give me just one or two more shows. It is not easy. I’m not just an actor in these films. The work goes beyond that,” he said.

Manoj Bajpayee reunited with Makhija on the film Joram, which was given a theatrical release by a major studio on the strength of the actor’s past work with them. But the film didn’t make much of an impact at the box office. After the film’s commercial failure, the filmmaker said that he has no money to show for his work. Appearing for an interview with Pranav Chokhani, he said, “I have not made money off any of my films. I struggle to pay rent. Because Joram didn’t make any of its money back, I am bankrupt. I haven’t paid rent in the last five months. Main abhi landlord ke aage haath-pair jod raha hoon ke yaar mujhe ghar se mat nikalo (I’m begging my landlord to not evict me from my house). That is the price you have to pay if you want to prioritise your art.”

Makhija experienced similar setbacks with his previous films, which he made while dealing with health issues. Manoj Bajpayee can currently be seen in the film Jugnuma, directed by Raam Reddy.