From Satya, Shool, and Rajneeti to Gangs of Wasseypur and Aligarh, India has witnessed what an acting powerhouse Manoj Bajpayee is. His latest release Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is inspired by real-life events, and will see him play lawyer PC Solanki who takes on a godman in a rape case. The actor recently spoke about his journey from playing 'characters' to now being the 'hero' of his films. He also shared how he feels humbled to have brought about this change for his contemporaries and even the future generation of actors. Recalling his conversation with Mahesh Bhatt, Manoj Bajpayee shared how the filmmaker called him after The Family Man. "Years back, when I used to hang out with him, I had asked him why our heroes are never real. He told me I would be delusional to even think that heroes can be real because they are designed in a certain way. After the web show, Mahesh ji called me and said he never thought the interpretation of a hero could be changed. He congratulated me for doing the same. It was so great for him to call. But my fight has always been for that, I wanted the heroes to be different, to be real," he told indianexpress.com. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Indian Express Entertainment (@ieentertainment) The actor added that while people feel he is the hero, it's his characters that are the star of his projects. Bajpayee said, "I am still playing the characters, they, in turn, have become heroes. Nothing drastic has changed, except, earlier I would be one of the three characters, now I am leading the story. And it's such a great thing to happen. And if it's because of me, I am glad because somewhere people are now writing heroes as characters. That's a great sign for the coming days." Recalling Kaykay Menon's quotes in an interview, he said, "Kaykay (Menon) had once said that if Bhiku Matre hadn't happened, Manoj Bajpayee would not have happened, this lot of actor wouldn't have happened. And I think we should credit Ram Gopal Varma for the same. He was such a rebel to allow this angsty lot to change things, to do things their way. We never wanted to surrender to the idea of actors. And eventually, things have changed from one person to a whole clan of like-minded people. And it all happened because of the emergence of Satya." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bandaa (@bajpayee.manoj) While the actor claims to have never fallen for the usual industry idea of an actor, we wondered if he ever wanted to dance at award shows. With a laugh, he replied, "Main kar hi nahi sakta (I can never do it). Honestly, I did try it once but I failed miserably. Years back, I danced at Filmfare on a song from Ghaath. At the end of it, I was so tired, huffing and puffing, I realised this is not my cup of tea. And then the day Hrithik Roshan arrived in the scene, I gave up dancing. I couldn't go back to dance school to learn all these new moves. I told everyone to please keep me out of it." Manoj Bajpayee further reflected that while he was doing fairly well before the pandemic, the emergence of OTT introduced him to a new audience. He shared that while he always had fans, youngsters under 18 know him because of The Family Man. "The show took me to every corner, and that's my biggest earning from the digital space," he smiled to share. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bandaa (@bajpayee.manoj) Talking about soaring to new heights as an actor, he added that it has also empowered him with the option to choose. "The choices have widened for me, and now there are way too many to pick from. It has really empowered me, I cannot deny this fact. Earlier I would get one good film in three-four months but now I get four good scripts in a month. It all now falls to what I choose, and my preference remains the same. Bandaa is a testimony to that," Manoj Bajpayee concluded. Bandaa is streaming on ZEE5.
