Manoj Bajpayee on how Yash Chopra cast him in Veer Zaara: ‘He said I don’t make films for actors like you but…’

Veer Zaara was a cross-border romance where Shah Rukh Khan played an Indian Air Force officer in love with Preity Zinta, daughter of a Pakistani politician. Manoj Bajpayee featured in the Yash Chopra directorial in a cameo.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | Updated: March 26, 2023 02:06 PM IST

3 min read

Actor Manoj Bajpayee starred in Yash Chopra's 2004 romantic drama Veer-Zaara in a special appearance.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee‘s first big mainstream turn with Shah Rukh Khan- starrer Veer Zaara in 2004 was a great opportunity for him to “catch up” with the superstar he had known for years and to also be on a Yash Chopra set and observe the master himself.

Veer Zaara was a cross-border romance where Shah Rukh played an Indian Air Force officer in love with Preity Zinta, daughter of a Pakistani politician. Manoj Bajpayee featured in the Yash Chopra directorial in a cameo.

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In an interview with Humans of Bombay, when asked how his experience was working with Shah Rukh in Veer Zaara, Bajpayee said he did the romantic drama for Yash Chopra, after the filmmaker offered him the special role.

“No offence to him (Shah Rukh), but I did this film because Mr Yash Chopra called me up and requested me to be a part of it. He was a big fan of my performance in Pinjar and once he saw the film in Delhi with Lal Krishna Advani ji, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, he was thoroughly impressed with my performance. That’s when he thought of offering me this role.

“It was a guest appearance; I was there only for four-five days. He treated me as good as anyone on the sets. I was welcomed so royally in that film family, the Veer Zaara family. I enjoyed every moment of shooting with Yash Chopra ji,” the actor said.

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Bajpayee said the film also offered an opportunity for him to reconnect with Shah Rukh, as the two go back to Delhi days when they did theatre together.

“Shah Rukh, I have known for many years from my days in Delhi, so it was also a chance to catch up. Because we don’t meet up, we belong to two different kinds of films and filmmaking. So, it was a chance to catch up with him and also enjoy being on the sets of Mr Yash Chopra, who had been such a magnificent, successful mainstream director for so many years. We grew up watching his films! We used to chat for long, both Yash ji and me. He was very clear in telling me, ‘I don’t make films for an actor like you, so I don’t think I would have anything else in the future, but this is very good and it will be great if you agree to do it.’ He was such a humble man,” he added.

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Bajpayee was recently seen in Disney Plus Hotstar film Gulmohar, co-starring Sharmila Tagore, Suraj Sharma and Simran among others.

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