Actor Manoj Bajpayee is making waves for his trademark knack of playing middle-class men and turning the ordinary into unforgettable stories in his latest release, Inspector Zende. Now, he is reuniting with filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma after 27 years.

Manoj, 56, joined Sonal Kalra, Chief Managing Editor, Entertainment and Lifestyle, in this week’s episode of The Right Angle with Sonal Kalra, and opened up on the money struggles of actors across mediums, and how passion, not validation, drives him.

Very difficult shoes to wear (laughs). I’ve been crazy about acting since I was 10 and I still am. I’m not giving any gyaan, nobody wants that. [But] today, too, I feel every great role should only come to me and no one else. If you want to buy a nice car, live in a nice house, wear good clothes, or tour the world through your acting, don’t go for it. The ratio of people who achieve that is very low. The passion for your work must always be present. If you want to act because without it you might die, then come.

That’s very difficult to judge. Ask anyone who won a National Film Award last year, and most won’t remember. But they’ll remember Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and Joram (both 2023) as great films, even though they didn’t get any National Awards. What matters to me is how great the films are and how proud I am of my work. Awards are for one evening; your work will be remembered. You can’t get an award to validate your work; if you are doing that, it’s a great injustice to yourself and your films.

I never get paid (laughs). And nowadays, even those in theatres aren’t getting paid like they used to because of the risk and budget constraints. On OTT, I’ve been busy for seven years. The biggest advantages are out-of-the-box stories and actors getting respect, and writers and directors getting employed; it’s a win-win situation for all of us, including the platforms. Theatres are slowly making a comeback, but budgets are lower. I really want all mediums — films, OTT, and satellite — to do really well. If they do, there won’t be a monopoly, and that will only be good for filmmakers, actors and all creative departments.

I’ve finished one schedule, and I am completely zapped. He is the real OG (laughs). This guy has not gone anywhere; he is going to be back, and how! Ramu’s ability to go beyond anybody’s imagination as a filmmaker, his courage, and his audaciousness have not changed! But he has become very inclusive. Unlike the Ramu I saw and experienced during Satya (1998), Shool (1999) and Kaun? (1999), this one is like a three-year-old kid in a candy store. And even today, he sits down with you and tells you what has gone wrong with him in all these years. The output so far is mind-blowing. A director like Ram Gopal Varma can always come back and throw you out of your alignment; he is that kind of talent.