It is now impossible to differentiate actor Manoj Bajpayee from the role of Srikant Tiwari in the iconic Amazon Prime Video show, The Family Man. He is synonymous with it and the impact that the role and the show have had globally cannot be denied.
However, there would have been a possibility that Bajpayee would have rarely done it. In a recent appearance on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, Bajpayee revealed how his wife and producer, Shabana Raza Bajpayee initially did not want him to do the role.
She had two fears about it – firstly, that it might degrade him as an artist and secondly, if he was doing the show for financial reasons only. Bajpayee mentioned that he reassured her that it isn’t owing to monetary reasons and that the show’s concept and success have the potential to change the landscape of television. He also reiterated how his wife underestimated the global influence of streaming platforms at the time. He further mentioned how their conversation and her take on it evolved over two successful seasons of the show.
As we know, Bajpayee recently reprised his role of Srikanth Tiwari and has begun shooting for the third season of The Family Man with Raj & DK. The actor also just had a theatrical release in the form of Bhaiyya Ji., which also marked his wife’s production debut.