One of the most versatile actors of the Hindi Film Industry, Manoj Bajpayee, is well known for the memorable characters that he has played. He is one of those few people who put in that special brio in a character making it more believable. Also known as a method actor and a director’s actor, he is appreciated for his distinct style of acting and unconventional roles.
So what has really gone into the making of this exceptional actor? Let us take a look.
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1. Manoj Bajpayee was born to a farmer in a small village called Belwa in Bihar on 23rd April 1969.
2. Manoj father Radhakant Bajpai was a farmer and his mother was a housewife. He is the second child among his six siblings.
One of his younger sister, Poonam Dubey, is a fashion designer in the film industry.
3. He was named after the legend Manoj Kumar.
4. Early Life and Schooling
Manoj Bajpayee studied in a hut school till 4th standard as his father, being a farmer, could not spend much on their education.
5. He helped his father in farming when back from his boarding school during vacations.
6. Since childhood he wanted to become an actor. He completed rest of his schooling from Bettiah and later moved to Delhi at the age of seventeen.
7. Travelled without reservation
He came to Delhi with his friend Ravinder Chaudhary and stayed at his brother’s house for some time. He travelled without a reservation; although he didn’t know that it was illegal. He was told to avoid the TT and for that he stayed awake the whole night.
8. While studying in Delhi, his father used to send him 200/- a month and he had to survive in that only.
9. Dream to join NSD
Manoj first heard about NSD in an interview of Naseeruddin Shah, and since then he decided that he would join it one day.
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10. Failed NSD Efforts
After pursuing graduation from Ramjas College, he applied to the National School of Drama. However, his application was rejected four times.
He was so depressed at that time that he thought of committing suicide.
11. He took part in a lot of dramatics for Ramjas College and Hindu College and worked really hard on his Hindi and English diction.
12. During his college days, he concentrated mainly on dramatics and used to study for his exams barely one month before it.
13. Manoj Bajpayee has learnt the semi classical dance Chau (dance of west Bengal) for 4 years.
14. Fourth attempt at NSD
Upon actor Raghubir Yadav’s suggestion, Manoj Bajpayee joined director and acting coach Barry John’s workshop. Thereafter, when he applied to the NSD for the fourth time, he was instead offered a teaching position.
15. Manoj considers Barry John to be his teacher and guide for everything.
16. Marriage life
Manoj Bajpayee married a girl from Delhi, however, they got divorced during his period of struggle. Later on, in 2006 he went on to marry film actress Neha (real name – Shabana Raza) of Kareeb fame.
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17. Did many small roles during his struggle period
Facing a lot of struggle, Manoj Bajpayee did miniscule roles for many years. From a one minute role in Drohkaal in 1994 and dacoit in “Bandit Queen” in the same year, to more meagre roles in movies like Dastak, Tamanna and Daud. He started with whatever could give him exposure and experience.
18. Turning point of his life
Ram Gopal Verma discovered him while casting for Daud. He later apologized to him for giving him a role too small for his calibre and offered him a prominent role in his upcoming film Satya. His character of Bhiku Mhatre from that movie gave him instant success and is still engraved as one of the most memorable character of Hindi film history.
19. Successful and widely appreciated performances
Post Satya , Manoj Bajpayee was widely appreciated for him roles in the movies Aks, Kaun, Zubeidaa, LOC Kargil, Veer Zara, Rajneeti , Gangs of Wasseypur, Sarkar 3 and Satyagrah.
20. Awards and Achievements
• Bajpayee won the National Film Award for the Best Supporting actor and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for his performance in movie Satya. This performance also won him a slot in Filmfare’s Bollywood’s Top 80 Iconic Performances in its 2010 issue.
• He won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance for the movie Shool in 1999.
• The movie Pinjar made him win the National Film Award – Special Jury Award/ Special mention.
21. Hard to believe but, he never looks in the mirror while getting make up done as he has a complex and still does cannot believe that he became an actor.
There are very few people in Bollywood who can perform on the lines of Manoj Bajpayee. Nawazuddin Siddiqui had stated that Bajpayee’s performance in Aks was the inspiration behind his role in the movie Kick in 2014. Being an inspiration and possess qualities that people want to emulate are few of the biggest compliments that one could ever garner. Bajpayee has given some undoubtedly impactful and memorable roles to the audience and we hope he continues to keep this trend going.
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