Celeb talk

Make way for the king

From the time he proclaimed himself as ruler of Mumbai, MANOJ BAJPAYEE has been conquering one genre at a time, says SAIMI SATTAR

MUMBAIka king kaun? Bhiku Mhatre.” The iconic dialogue from Satya (1998), while obliterating the eponymously-labelled hero into oblivion, had the effect of blazing a new name into the collective conscience of avid cine watchers. Manoj Bajpayee —an actor from a small village of Belwa in Bihar —playing a gangster from Maharashtra, with his whiplash reactions and crackling chemistry with Shefali Shah (then Chhaya), depicted the underbelly of the Millennium City in this Ram Gopal Verma-directed film with great alacrity.

Even today —after having played iconic and memorable characters like Sardar Khan (Gangs of Wasseypur), Ramchandra Siras (Aligarh), Srikant Tiwari (Family Man) and more —Bajpayee recognises the seminal role that Bhiku played in putting his career on the fast track. “If Bhiku Mhatre hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have had this kind of a journey.

It would have been different. He has given me so much strength and power. I owe everything to Bhiku Mhatre,” says the 51-year-old actor over a WhatsApp message as technology is increasingly being harnessed in these changed times when face-to-face interaction is difficult.

The other change which has worked to the advantage of actors like Bajpayee is the rise of talent over star power, especially, across all the OTT platforms. The actor, who made his debut with a one-minute role in Govind Nihalani's Drohkaal (1994), says, “OTT does not work like box office so there is nothing like the first day, second day or weekend collection. When people have the power of remote, they want to watch good content and appreciate talent. That is why OTT is doing well for everyone in different departments.”

On the other hand, OTT platforms have come in for a fair share of criticism —for explicit content and intensely heightened violence —which have often led to demands of them being subjected to censorship. Bajpayee, whose characters like Sardar Khan have used cuss words with abandon, says, “The government has said that OTT will be self-regulated and rightly so. Let the OTT or filmmakers decide the age-suitability for their content. It is evident in each household that parental control is the best. Parents are careful and sensitive about what their children should watch. I can tell you that it works beautifully in our house.”

But that doesn’t take away from the fact that often the filmmakers (and OTT platforms) have used sex and violence as titillation to grab eyeballs. “Many of them have been using it brazenly and have gone overboard but others have produced remarkable content. In the beginning, they too took flight because they felt free and wanted to test how far they could go. And then, after a point, the filmmakers developed content without going overboard. And that’s the way it should be. Instead of others telling you what to do, if you give that freedom to a filmmaker, s/he behaves responsibly,” says Bajpayee.

An addition to the censorship debate is the rise of groups that claim to take affront to a scene, a reference or an entire film/series and want it banned

EARLYLIFE

o Born in Belwa, a small village in West Champaran, Bihar o Relocated to Delhi at 17 and went to Satyawati and later to Ramjas College, Delhi University. o He is the second child among his five other siblings. o His father was a farmer and his mother, a housewife.

or boycotted. Bajpayee says, “I really don’t know how a film or a creative endeavour can offend people so much. I don’t think they should give so much importance to it that their beliefs are completely shaken up. But, at the same time, I would say that this is not a new trend. If you go 10 0r 20 years back, some films or plays have irked people who got it banned or boycotted it but I, personally, am not in favour of boycotts or bans. Different opinions should exist as it’s very healthy for the growth of the society and the industry.” He has a simple solution for those getting offended —“make use of the remote and switch the series off or not buy the tickets ‘OTT DOES NOT WORK LIKE to the film”. BOX OFFICE SO THERE IS However, as of now, people are not NOTHING LIKE THE FIRST making a beeline to theatres as theirDAY, SECOND DAY OR WEEKEND COLLECTION. WHEN PEOPLE HAVE THE favourite outings and sticking to home entertainment. On being asked to play POWER OF REMOTE, THEY soothsayer, and predict whether the trend

WANT TO WATCH GOOD would continue, Bajpayee says, “Nobody CONTENT AND APPRECIATE knows what will happen in the future. Do TALENT. THAT IS WHY OTT we know if the world will come back to the IS DOING WELL FOR EVERYONE IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS’ same normal? We are just guessing. Nobody had experienced this situation earlier. I would want theatres to thrive and do well apart from OTT gaining in strength so that there are more media for talents to explore and work in. That would be a great situation. Right?” Small town and hinterland India has made its presence felt in the stories being told on the OTT platform. This gradual shift has been witnessed in the films as well. Bajpayee, who comes from a blip on the map village, says, “It started happening 20 or maybe 22-23 years back or, maybe, more than that. New directors, from villages and small towns, came to Mumbai and the industry. They chose to tell stories about where they hailed from, the milieu they belonged to. People could relate to these stories as most of the population has a similar set up.” Having started in the industry 23-years back, when realistic cinema was more of a parallel movement than mainstream, Bajpayee has been witness to its evolution. “Films have evolved a great deal and become more realistic though they are still following the trajectory set by Satya or Bandit Queen. While earlier, the actors were trying to be there with their performances, now they are concentrating on the craft rather than getting into the feeling of it. We have become too organised thus leaving little scope to be organic. Even on the sets, people are so disciplined that we are losing warmth. If people try to be as real as possible —in front of the camera, in storytelling and scripts —it will be amazing for the audience,” says the actor who got the National Film

MILESTONES

o In 1994 he made his feature film debut with a oneminute role in Drohkaal and followed it up with a minor role in Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen.

o He received a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for the crime drama, Satya (1998).

o He won the Special Jury National Award for Pinjar (2003). o He won his third Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor and the Best Actor Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2016 for Hansal Mehta’s biographical drama Aligarh (2015).

Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Filmfare that Aban Bharucha Deohans, who he has always Critics Award for Best Actor for Satya. been in awe of, is a friend and was helming the

Bajpayee points out that while taking up any project further influenced his decision. project, it’s not an award that he is hankering after. However, Bajpayee, who recently got the Best Or for that matter, even popular recognition. “When Actor at the Critics’ Choice Film Awards for Bhonsle, you are playing a part, you are doing so in the says he has no formula to choose his roles. manner that it has to be done. You are trying to be “Sometimes you think about it for a few days even if truthful and give all to that moment, scene and you like it. At other times, in just one reading, you characterrather than thinking of recognition or an know that you want to be a part of it. The director, award. You are nervous and putting in 200 per cent the script, the whole project and sometimes the so that you are really good,” he says and adds, “If production house ... there could be so many things you are doing good work, you will get both that ultimately help make the decision. And at times recognition and awards. You shouldn’t have to —the director is new, there is no producer but the choose between the two. We are supposed to do our script is fantastic so you still think that the film characters truthfully and with integrity.” should be made and —you just go ahead and do it.

The actor who played a wedding detective in the The rules keep varying,” says the actor who has done film, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari (2020), and an a slew of intriguing and benchmarked roles. intelligence officer in the series, The Family Man However, once he is a part of the project, does (2019), is cast as ACP Avinash Verma in his next the approach change depending upon the medium outing. “My role, in Silence: Can You Hear It, is that of that he is working in? “A series on an OTT platform an estranged husband who is or a film involves a camera so there separated from his family. He is always finding ways to impress his ‘IF YOU ARE DOING GOOD WORK, YOU WILL GET BOTH RECOGNITION AND is no difference in approach. What matters is that the camera captures daughter,” says Bajpayee who took AWARDS. YOU SHOULDN’T the moments unfolding in front of up the film as it is a murder HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN it. I don’t differentiate and the mystery, a genre, that he has never THE TWO. WE ARE acting remains the same been a part of in his career. The fact SUPPOSED TO DO OUR irrespective of whether you shootCHARACTERS TRUTHFULLY AND WITH INTEGRITY’

even think that it was going to be a funny scene or said that, ‘if we do it this way, people will laugh’. We just agreed that we would approach our story, script or character in the manner that it should be approached and do justice to it. If people laugh, then well and good. If they don’t, that too is fine as we are being truthful to the character ... so there is no question of balancing comedy and realism,” insists Bajpayee. He turned narrator with a 55-minute documentary on Discovery Plus titled Secrets of Sinauli by Neeraj Pandey. Bajpayee sounds excited at the mention and says, “It is an excavation that has been going on for some time and the findings are mind-boggling. This is a story that we should all know and be proud of as Indians.” Like many other actors, Bajpayee too wants to extend his frontiers and direct films at some point. “Maybe, I’ll do it one day. I am waiting for a script that will push and encourage me to go on the set as a director. Till then I am going to be part of this industry as an actor, which I am DIDYOUKNOW enjoying. The offers are o He is named after Manoj Kumar, abundant and there is a pile of the actor. scripts to choose from. Why with a 5 D, a digital film or o He applied at the National School of Drama, only to be rejected four times. should I sacrifice this to become a director?” he asks. phone camera,” says Bajpayee o He attended director and acting And the amount of work who was appreciated for his coach Barry John’s workshop. becomes evident from the portrayal of Maharaja o Impressed by Bajpayee’s projects that he has on his plate. Vijayendra Singh in Zubeidaa. acting, John hired him to assist “A film (Dial 100) by Sony It is the script, genre and director that change his method. in teaching. o After that he applied at the National School of Drama for pictures directed by Rensil D’Silva. A one-hour film for “Some directors do not want me the fourth time and they offered Netflix by Abhishek Chaubey. to approach the role in the way him a teaching position at the Then, Silence by Zee Studio that I might have done a school instead. which will be aired on Zee5. I character in the past. The am working in Despatch by Kanu attitude is decided according to the project and the Behl of Titli fame, produced by Ronnie Screwvala. kind of role. But I try to improve my process and He is such a fantastic, young and great director. craft by keeping my mind’s eye open to learn new Then, I am working with Ram Reddy who directed things and novel ways of doing things,” he says. Thithi. There are a few projects that I can’t disclose

So, was he attempting that by balancing comedy at this point but it is all chock-a-block till April next with realism in The Family Man? “Very honestly, I did year and I don’t have any breathing space... So just not try to do comedy. I was following the pray for me.” But then nobody has been able to stop characterisation that had been scripted. We didn’t the king of Mumbai, has s/he?