Manoj Bajpayee opened up on his fight (courtesy bajpayee.manoj)
Strong points
- “I was a fan of Bachchan and wanted to be like him,” said the actor.
- “I taught myself English and Hindi,” said Manoj Bajpayee
- “I then applied to NSD, but I was rejected three times,” he added.
New Delhi:
Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who stars in the recently released film Bhonsle, shared the story of his fight to be rejected during the auditions and to become one of the best actors of Bollywood in an article for Humans Of Bombay. Self-proclaimed fan of Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpayee began his story by describing himself as a “farmer’s son” and saying that he had traveled from his village of Bihar to Delhi at the age of 17, where he was occupied by the theater: “I am a farmer’s son; I grew up in a village in Bihar with 5 brothers and sisters – we went to a refuge school. We led a simple life, but each time we were going to town, we were going to the theater. I was a Bachchan fan and I wanted to be like him. At 9 years old, I knew that playing was my destiny. But I could not allow myself to dream and I continued My studies, however, my mind refused to focus on anything else, so at 17 I left DU. There I did theater but my family had no idea. Finally, I wrote a letter to dad – he was not angry and even sent me 200 rupees to cover my expenses! The people from my house called me ‘good for nothing’ s I closed my eyes. “
Manoj Bajpayee revealed that after being repeatedly rejected at the National School Of Drama, he had suicidal thoughts but had his friends as pillars of support until his arrival: “I was a stranger, trying to fit in. So, I taught myself English and Hindi – bhojpuri was a big part of the way I spoke. I then applied to NSD, but I was rejected three times. I was about to kill myself, so my friends slept next to me and didn’t leave me alone. They held me until I was accepted. “
Manoj Bajpayee, who starred in the critically acclaimed 1994 film by Shekhar Kapur Bandit Queenadded what changed that year: “That year I was Chai shop when Tigmanshu picked me up on his khatara scooter – Shekhar Kapur wanted to throw me in Bandit Queen! So I felt I was ready and I moved to Mumbai. At first it was difficult – I rented a chawl with 5 friends and looked for work, but got no role. Once, an advertisement tore my photo apart and I lost 3 projects in one day. I was even told to “go out” after my first shot. I didn’t fit the ideal face of a “hero” – so they thought I would never have arrived on the big screen. All this time, I struggled to make rent and sometimes even a vada pav was expensive. “
In 1995 Manoj Bajpayee played an important role in a television program directed by Mahesh Bhatt Swabhimaan, which was the springboard for his revolutionary film Satya (1998). “But the hunger in my stomach could not dissuade my hunger from succeeding. After 4 years of struggle, I got a role in the TV series of Mahesh Bhatt. I received Rs 1500 per episode – my first income My work has been noticed and I was offered my first Bollywood film and soon I had my big break with Satya“said the 51-year-old actor. Manoj Bajpayee won the award for best national supporting actor for his performance in Satya.
“That’s when the rewards came. I bought my first house and I knew … I was there to stay. 67 films later, here I am. That’s the dream – when it comes to turning them into reality, the difficulties don’t matter. What matters is the belief of this 9 year old boy Bihari and nothing else, “said Manoj Bajpayee with these words.
“I am a farmer’s son; I grew up in a village in Bihar with 5 brothers and sisters – we went to a shelter school. We led a simple life, but each time we went to town, we went to theater. I was a fan of Bachchan and wanted to be like him. At 9 years old, I knew that playing was my destiny. But I could not allow myself to dream and I continued my studies. However, my spirit refused to be focus on something else, so when I was 17 I left for DU. There I did theater but my family had no idea. Finally, I wrote a letter to dad – he didn’t was not angry and even sent me 200 rupees to cover my costs! nothing “but I closed my eyes. I was a stranger, trying to fit in. So, I taught myself English and Hindi-Bhojpuri was a big part of my way of speaking. I then applied to NSD, but was rejected three times. I was about to kill myself, so my friends slept next to me and didn’t leave me alone. They held me until I was accepted. That year, I was in a cellar store when Tigmanshu picked me up on his khatara-Shekhar Kapur wante d scooter to get me started on Bandit Queen! So I felt I was ready and I moved to Mumbai. At first it was difficult, I rented a chawl with 5 friends and looked for work, but I got no role. Once, an advertisement tore my photo apart and I lost 3 projects in one day. I was even told to “go out” after my first shot. I didn’t fit the ideal “hero” face, so they thought I would never get to the big screen. During all this time, I struggled to make the rent and sometimes even a vada paver was expensive. But the hunger in my stomach couldn’t dissuade my hunger from succeeding. After 4 years of struggle, I got a role in the Mahesh Bhatt TV series. I received Rs.1500 per episode, my first regular income. My work was noticed and I was offered my first Bollywood film and soon I had my big break with ‘Satya’. That’s when the rewards arrived. I bought my first house and I knew … I was here to stay. 67 films later, here I am. That’s the dream – when it comes to turning them into reality, the difficulties don’t matter. What matters is the belief of this 9 year old Bihari boy and nothing else. “- HOB with @sonylivindia tells you the story of Manoj Bajpayee, whose life has come full circle. To watch his award-winning performance in Bhonsle, click on the bio link!
Manoj Bajpayee is best known for films such as Shool, Pinjar, Aks, Road then Rajneeti, Aarakshan, Gangs Of Wasseypur – Part 1, Special 26, Satyagraha and Aligarh in the latter part of his career. In 2019, he received the Padma Shri for his contribution to art and cinema. Manoj Bajpayee’s price list also includes a special national jury award for his 2003 film Pinjar.
