As the camera chameleon Manoj Bajpayee turned a year older this week, he got philosophical in an exclusive conversation. “Now is the time to realize that whatever you want to do with your life , you must do it. There is no space for lazing around any more. I just need to put my best foot forward and keep making the best of all the opportunities I get.I am just grateful that these opportunities are coming my way.
The past year has been amazing for Manoj. “I have been lucky to be at the right place at the right time.Otherwise there are so many other talented actors who haven’t got the same opportunities.I am not the kind of person who gets content easily.I expect a lot from myself. Having said that, I must say the past year was quite spectacular, starting with Gulmohar, then Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai and Joram…all of them became cult works in their own right. They were widely watched , admired and celebrated on different platforms . What more can any actor ask for?”
2024 too has started for Manoj on a high note. “This year started with Killer Soup directed by one of my most favourite directors Abhishek Choubey. And then came the mystery thriller Silence which is doing remarkably well on Zee5. Now Bhaiyaji is coming on 24th May which is mainstream commercial film directed by Apoorv Singh Karki who directed me in Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai. This is the kind of commercial film he always wanted to make. And he convinced me to get into it. I also have a film with Kanu Behl coming up this year.So yeah, I am looking forward to this year as much as last year.”
Looking back at the highlights of his career in recent times, Manoj says, “Being part of a film(Gulmohar) with Sharmila Tagoreji was quite an achievement for me. Sitting next to her during the film’s promotions was quite a privilege. And then Sirf Ek Banda Kafi Hai became quite a rage. It has broken records for original Hindi feature film across all OTT platforms. And Joram which got a token release in theatres and then went to the OTT…it is running on three digital platforms: Apple TV , Amazon Prime Video and YouTube…It too got rave reviews.All the three films presented different kind of challenges for me. I am so happy people watched my films and liked them. Sirk Ek Banda Kafi Hai did the unthinkable: it went from OTT to movie theatres. This was unheard of! I can go on. But I shouldn’t. It would sound like I am gloating. But since you asked me, I took a rewind journey.”
The actor extraordinaire has Bhaiyaji coming up next. “Bhaiyaji will be my first full-fledged theatre release in a long time. One month of promotions are lined up for that. I am looking forward to that. Then I have Kanu Behl’s Despatch releasing by the end of this year on OTT.So I would say there is plenty of me on different movie platforms this year.Hopefully when we speak on my next birthday I would be saying the same to you.”