MUMBAI: Manoj Bajpayee first came into the spotlight after he played Bhiku Mhatre in Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya over 25 years ago. Even though Manoj received a lot of applause for that film, he became a household name only after he appeared in The Family Man on Amazon Prime Video. 

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All these years, Manoj was celebrated as being one of the most talented actors of his generation but despite that, he had to compromise and take up roles that gave him money, instead of creative satisfaction, to survive in the city of Mumbai. 

In a recent interview, when Manoj was asked if he ever signed a film just for money, the actor admitted it without any hesitation.

The actor told Film Companion, “Yes [I have], in my downtime.” He continued that an actor shouldn’t regret taking up these kinds of offers if it helps in their survival. “I always say that actors shouldn’t be… they shouldn’t regret if they do something for money, to run the kitchen,” he shared.

Manoj added that this could be seen as taking a few steps back but insisted that this could be seen as them getting ready to take a leap towards a better future. “They should do a film where they think that they are taking a few steps back just to take a leap. It was not something that was indulgent from my side. I needed money to survive in this city which is fine. I never regretted it. I still own those films very proudly,” he said.

In an earlier chat with Janice Sequeira for her YouTube channel, Manoj Bajpayee had shared an anecdote where his wife Shabana Raza told him to “stop doing films for money” after she felt “insulted, humiliated” after watching Manoj in one of his “bad films”.

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“It was a bad film, bad film. After the film she called me and I asked how she liked the film, and she [Shabana] said, ‘Stop doing films for money. We are not so desperate that you did it for money. It was embarrassing, I felt insulted, humiliated in the theatre, don’t ever do it, please! You are good at stories and characters, please choose them, not these films, you don’t need to prove anything else,'” he shared.

Manoj Bajpayee was last seen in the ZEE5 film Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai.

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Credits - The Indian Express