‘Shah Rukh Khan is still an outsider, and the real Bollywood insiders want to be seen with him’: Manoj Bajpayee

Asked if he’s frustrated about not becoming an ‘insider’ despite working in the industry for three decades, Manoj said in Hindi, “See, Shah Rukh embraced the industry, and that was his journey. When people think of me as an outsider, I see that as an honour. Shah Rukh is also an outsider actually. He made a place for himself in the industry, and he did it so well, the real insiders wanted to be seen with him. I never wanted this for myself.”

When the interviewer pointed out that both Manoj and Shah Rukh are roughly the same age, they have similar voices, and heights, Manoj said with a laugh, “But he’s better looking… He was always good looking, he has a chocolatey face. And he’s so charming. Even back in the day, everyone would say that I’m talented, but they would want to hang out only with him.”

While both Manoj and Shah Rukh have paved their own paths in the film industry, in recent years, both have attained even greater heights by playing spies. Manoj stars in Prime Video’s The Family Man, and Shah Rukh will play Pathaan for the next few years at least. They’ve worked together in the TV movie In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, and in Veer-Zaara.