Today, the Hindi film and television industry is known to function in a very meticulous and disciplined manner, with a fixed schedule for everything. However, this wasn’t always the case, says Manoj Pahwa. 

Looking back at his initial days in the industry, the actor says, “In the 1990s and early 2000s, people would laugh if actors asked for a script in advance. Kareeb 20 saal pehle, aisa bolte the, ‘Script kya hai? Koi script nahin maangta hai. Set pe jo hoga, hoga’. But, those times are long gone. There is a lot of discipline in the industry now. You get to know about everything beforehand.”

It is not uncommon that makers look at experienced actors to carry a part of a film on their shoulders. Recollecting one such incident, the 59-year-old shares, “I remember once, a maker cast me as a hawaldaar [in a project] and I wasn’t given any script. Once I reached the set, they expected me to just act and do something funny. That felt weird.”

But the Bawaal actor is glad that things are changing. He cites another incident that took place with actor Johny Lever: “He said people would just cast him in films and he had to create a scene and bring something funny [to the script]. This doesn’t happen now though. The times are changing. We, actors, are given a bound script one month in advance so that we are prepped properly.”