Manoj Bajpayee who will be seen next in ‘Aiyaary’ has a busy year ahead. As he will be shooting in Chambal next and later he will also be seen in ‘Baaghi 2’. “Yes. I am back in Chambal. The last time I shot here it was for Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Bandit Queen’. How many years ago was that? Maybe 22-23 years ago. Chambal has transformed completely. Firstly, the dacoits are gone. They’ve all been eliminated. That Chambal in our movies with galloping horses never existed. The little dusty and desolate villages we used to shoot in are now gone. In their place, we’ve rapidly developing towns with sturdy roads, internet connection, satellite television. It’s different world...Shining India.”
Talking about his career the actor said, “God has been kind. The audience has been kind, though demanding. They expect performances from me every time they come to see a film with me. Very tough. Though I’ve pursued and explored performance-oriented characters throughout my career, the job is getting tougher now. We’ve a fresh crop of directors who watch cinema from all over the world on the internet and then expect themselves and their actors to match up to those international standards. The other day a director came to me with a Danish film for reference. I had never heard of it. I actually sat and watched the film to know what he wanted.”
When asked if we are losing touch with our cultural cinema, Manoj said, “It isn’t sad. It’s the reality. If we want to keep up with the rest of the world we have to match global standards. And trust me; we are not losing our cultural identity. There are so many youngsters who come up to me and talk about my characters in 'Gangs Of Wasseypur' and 'Aligarh'. These are films that are as Indian as they can get.”
Talking about his character in ‘Aligarh’, the actor said, “Loneliness was a new emotion for me. I’ve never experienced loneliness in my life. The professor in ‘Aligarh’ was isolated by choice. Give him his Lata Mangeshkar songs and two pegs of rum and he was fine in his own company. I consider it the first in my trilogy of loneliness. I’ve done two more film that explore the dynamics of loneliness. One is Bhosle which I’ve just completed with director Devashish Makhija It’s the story of a retired police constable. We had a tough time getting producers for the project. Finally we’ve somehow managed to get the funds to complete the film.”
Talking about ‘Gali Galaiyan’ Manoj said, “The third film in my loneliness trilogy is Deepesh Jain’s ‘Gali Galaiyan’ (In The Shadows). It is the most difficult character I’ve ever portrayed in my entire career. I play a man rapidly losing hold of reality. We shot the film in Old Delhi in complete isolation. I was locked away from all communication for weeks. I didn’t even tell my immediate family where I was.”
When asked that his wife didn’t know where he was shooting, “She knew I was shooting in Delhi, but that’s about it. I was completely secluded. By the time we finished shooting I felt I was losing my mind. ‘Gali Galaiyan’ is my most challenging role and film. The director Deepesh and I will now take it to festivals all across the world before releasing it in India.”
Talking about mainstream and non-mainstream cinema, the actor said, “Not anymore. There are no separate rules for mainstream and non-mainstream acting. I am not asked to give a different style of performance in commercial cinema. In fact, I am doing three major commercial films this year. One is Milap Zaveri’s film where John Abraham and I will share some very intense scenes. I’ve asked Milap to write in some performance-oriented scenes for me since that’s what audiences expect from me. I am also in ‘Baaghi 2’.”
The actor further said, “Yes, the director Ahmed Khan is a very dear old friend of mine. When he asked me to do a role I happily agreed. It is a small role. The film focuses on Tiger Shroff. But whatever I’ve done in the film I am happy with. The team took good care of me.”
Manoj makes some revelations about his role in ‘Son Chiraiya’, “That’s my third commercial film this year. I loved Abhishek’s work in ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ and was keen to work with him. Again, mine is not the central role. But it’s a very interesting character. Actually, this is a very opportune time for me. I am doing exactly the work I want.”
Talking about his experience in working in ‘Aiyaary’, Manoj said, “Very content. My target has always been challenging roles. And they continue to come to me. In my new release ‘Aiyaary’, I play an army man for the first time. This was an entirely new world for me. My director Neeraj Pandey helped me to enter and understand that world. With Neeraj, I feel I share a bonding that goes beyond cinema. We come from similar cultural backgrounds. I like to sit with Neeraj and share conversations on life and movies. We’ve worked well together in the past. I feel we’ve done something special in ‘Aiyaary’.”
Talking about the delay of their next film ‘Aiyaary’ the actor said, “I’ve been told not to talk about this there were minor changes required as per the Defence Ministry’s requirements. Those changes were made. Still, we didn’t have the censor certificate in our hands-on time. So we postponed the release by a week.”
He further adds, “It cannot! Until the guidelines change nothing will make a difference. My films have been chronic sufferers at the censor board. I’ve spoken enough on censorship.”
Talking about his upcoming films the actor said, “I am producing a short film with my wife Shabana and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead. It’s being directed by Suparn Varma with whom I’ve worked earlier. Then I will take a break for a few months to spend time with my daughter and wife. I think I’ve earned my time away.”
