Manoj Bajpayee recalls being treated ‘shabbily’ by casting assistants, was told ‘na hero dikhta hai na villain’

In an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, Manoj Bajpayee recollected his days of struggle in Mumbai and compared them to his theatre days in Delhi. He shared that he did plays for 10 years and did not even have enough money for food. “However, it never bothered us. All of us would stay together, and walk 5-6 km every day but we were happy as we were performing. Once I was in Mumbai, theatre’s absence hit me,” he shared.

Manoj Bajpayee shared that apart from being unhappy for not being able to perform there was an “immense amount of financial and physical issues.” He was not keeping well and that affected him mentally also. He added, “There were so many people standing in audition queues, and the assistants would be talking to all of us in the same manner. I would feel I have done theatre, have been part of Bandit Queen, and here is a young man treating me so badly. That was the time I felt I was probably in an illusion that I was a good actor. I wasn’t even getting work and decided that if something doesn’t come by next week, I will go back. This is not meant for me.”

Manoj Bajpayee played the role of Daku Maan Singh in Seema Biswas starrer Bandit Queen.

Talking about what made him stay on in Mumbai, he confessed to picking up a short story ‘Ram Sajeevan Ki Prem Katha’ and memorising it. He also got his friend to say the narrator’s line and they rehearsed it for 20 days before performing for friends. “Then it was either our house, Tigmanshu’s place, everywhere we went, before we started partying, we would put up a performance. It became a routine for us and we wouldn’t allow anyone to touch their food or drink before they saw our act. That day Mumbai became bearable as we had a purpose in our life,” Bajpayee shared with a laugh.

Delving further into the kind of struggle he faced, the National Award-winning actor shared that people would comment on his looks, sometimes even to his face. “Chehre pe hi bol dete the. Waise accha hua bol dete the, mauka nahi diya sochu ke kabhi bada hero banunga (Good that they said it on my face. That helped me to not keep big hopes of becoming a big star). People would comment that you neither look like a hero nor a villain. So they would always put me as a sidekick to the villain, not even the hero’s friend,” he shared.

Manoj Bajpayee played Veerendra Pratap, the antagonist in Rajneeti, (Photo: Screengrab)

Even after achieving success, the actor said that he took a long time before hiring a PR or a manager, or have an entourage as is the practice. “I never had a publicist. There was a woman who was desperate to represent me in the media, and I finally gave in. Then a friend suggested I get a digital PR for myself, saying they will pay for the same. They actually did pay for two months and then I was mat karo bhai. I must tell you this that whoever works for me has a tough time as my expectations are really high. They are really troubled by me. See, for several years I have marketed my films myself. Be it Bhosle, Gali Guleiyan or even Aligarh, I did the PR. I know how to do it and what needs to go in the market. These young people are always changing their plans. I didn’t even have a team or assistant for many years as independent films cannot bear such costs,” Manoj Bajpayee concluded.