'Na tu villain dikhta hai, na hero': Manoj Bajpayee recalls what people told him when he joined film industry

Manoj Bajpayee

Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee is one of the most versatile actors of the Indian film industry. His beginning in the movie business was not easy and judgements on his physical features did not make things easier. On his birthday today, we revisit the time he spoke about the kind of roles he was offered initially. On Mid-day's podcast series The Bombay Film Journey, Manoj described his transition from being a sidekick on screen to finally playing the lead.

Manoj Bajpayee on his Bollywood dreams

Manoj Bajpayee, who came to Mumbai in the 90s with dreams of becoming a great actor, recalls, "There was no chance of us becoming heroes at that time. I mean, people looking at us really didn't know what to do. I mean, so many people told me on my face, yaar tera kya karein yaar, na tu villain dikhta hai, na tu hero dikhta hai. I have come to this industry with different kind of features. But actually they were very right. I was definitely not a hero looking and I was definitely not a dangerous-looking guy, okay. That's how they used to cast."

Fame with Satya

Bajpayee made his foray into the cinema 30 years ago with the critically acclaimed Bandit Queen in which he had a small role. He then caught the attention of filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma who eventually cast him as Bhiku Mhatre in the cult-classic Satya, a film that disrupted the storytelling style in Hindi cinema and bolstered the progress of independent films. But Manoj states that Satya was a fluke in his career.

He explains, "There was only one mad guy called Ram Gopal Varma who was hell-bent on doing his own things. Rest filmmakers who were busy those days were only offering me villain's roles. And that was, that was the easy conventional way of thinking for them that this guy can be a villain to say one big star or another. I was not ready to."

"I realized that Satya has given me a chance, let me push it further. And I preferred to wait and say no to all the villain's roles and the money. Then to my luck, when Shool happened, people started looking at me differently as their main lead," he adds.

Manoj Bajpayee's work front

The actor was last seen in the film Despatch where he essayed the role of crime journalist. With news going digital, veteran crime journalist Joy fights irrelevance. Seeking major scoop and personal redemption, he pursues a perilous investigation into Mumbai's underbelly, unearthing dark secrets. He will next be seen in the third season of the hit series The Family Man directed by Raj and DK.