Pondering about the past is not in Manoj Bajpayee’s nature. Why should he when the present holds so much promise? But, at a point in our chat, we take him back to Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai (2023), which won Deepak Kingrani the National Film Award for best dialogue. The writer had told mid-day, at the time, that he wished Bajpayee too had won the gong for his powerful performance. Did the actor wish the same?

“More than me, the people associated with the film were sad. I don’t feel sad because a few people [comprising the jury] have decided not to give it to me. They must have their own reasons, with which I may or may not agree. It has happened in the past, even at National Awards, where one truly deserved it, but didn’t get it. If I complain about it, I will sound like a loser. All the award systems in the country have to look within. They have to correct their system. I can’t correct it, right? I’ve moved on,” he says.

He certainly has moved on to a glorious project, Jugnuma — The Fable. Twice in our conversation, he mentions that Raam Reddy’s directorial venture sits right at the top of his three-decade filmography. That’s a huge compliment for the film, which also stars Priyanka Bose, Tillotama Shome, and Deepak Dobriyal.

Bajpayee shares, “Magic realism [was the first draw] to do the film because we don’t make this genre at all. Secondly, the spiritual part of the story spoke to me.”

Another reason was Reddy, who made his directorial debut with the acclaimed Kannada film Thithi (2016). The director and his crew persevered through two pandemic-induced lockdowns and some delays to bring Jugnuma to life. “Then Raam took his time to edit it. He is a purist,” Bajpayee chuckles, before adding, “He is full of ideas, and uncompromising.”

Jugnuma has reminded the actor how much he loves collaborating with relatively new directors. “The film matters to them more than their lives. Their demands are high. I like that push because it’s easy to be content at my age. But the actor in me is so famished all the time. I want to be part of stories told by all these young and imaginative filmmakers.”

But does he ever feel egoistic, given his experience as an actor, while being directed by a relatively inexperienced director? “The awareness is always there. It’s up to you how you push it back. I don’t take it seriously. I don’t even watch my films. I do my film and move on.”

National Award winner Manoj Bajpayee says like fans, the team of his web series The Family Man is also waiting for the streaming giant Amazon Prime Video to announce the premiere date of its highly anticipated third season.

“The suspense from Amazon is killing the The Family Man team because for now we don’t have an answer,” said the actor. The second season of The Family Man, which premièred last June, was lapped up by viewers. The first season, which debuted on the OTT platform in late 2019, also received glowing reviews.

Bajpayee has a packed slate ahead with projects like Gulmohar, Kanu Behl’s Despatch, Joram with his Bhosle director Devashish Makhija, and Pahaadon Mein, and Soup, a Netflix series, his third collaboration with director Abhishek Chaubey after Ray and Sonchiriya.

“I’m currently shooting for Gulmohar and I finished Dispatch recently. I’ll start shooting in May for Joram. Then there is a film Pahaadon Mein by Raam Reddy that I have completed. There’s also the series, Soup for Netflix with Abhishek Chaubey. I think next year is going to be busy. People will either be entertained or get tired of me,” the actor, 52, added.

On Wednesday, Bajpayee turned showstopper for designer Samant Chauhan, a fellow Bihari and “a friend whom I have known for so many years”. “I have done theatre for so many years, but wearing something designed by Samant Chauhan is a big thing. Also, when I face the crowds, I not only feel uncomfortable but also a little embarrassed,” he said.

Describing his style as “casual and comfortable”, Bajpayee said he prefers jeans and T-shirt for his day-to-day use.

Blame it on the backlog of films created by the second wave of the pandemic and newer offers coming his way, but Manoj Bajpayee is staring at a hectic 2022. The actor wrapped up the shoot of Raam Reddy’s yet-untitled project and Kanu Behl’s investigative thriller Despatch in 2021. Before he could take a breather, he dived into his next with Abhishek Chaubey. The yet-untitled project, which reunites him with the filmmaker after their gritty Sonchiriya (2019), will see him sharing screen space with Konkona Sen Sharma.

Bajpayee kicked off the shoot in early December. “The drama also stars Sayaji Shinde, M Nassar and some well-known actors from the south film industry. The shoot was recently put on hold after Mumbai witnessed a surge in Coronavirus cases. But Abhishek has informed the unit that as soon as the cases are brought under control, he will return to the set. Manoj has 10 days’ work remaining on the project,” reveals a source. Post that, it will be time for the actor to join forces with Rahul Chitela — who previously served as Mira Nair’s assistant — for his directorial debut.    

Bajpayee admits that the frenetic pace can be overwhelming at times. “With the commitments I have, it will be hectic till the end of 2023. I have to finish all the films I have committed to. Only for this reason, I have stopped reading new scripts and taking narrations. At this point of time, I don’t have dates,” says the actor.

There was a bustle at New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan as the top brass of Bollywood collected to receive the National Awards on Monday. For Manoj Bajpayee, who took home the gong for Best Actor for his performance in Bhonsle at the ceremony’s 67th edition, the experience, although sweet, could have been more memorable.

“I felt alone,” says Bajpayee, who lost his father on October 2. “On wonderful occasions such as these, people celebrate with their loved ones. My wife [Shabana] and daughter [Ava Nayla] were supposed to be there. But, I was rushing from Kerala to attend it, so they couldn’t come with me. I missed my parents a lot. My father was such a film buff! He would keep a track of everything that I have done, including every award and honour that I received. He would be very proud of every achievement. So, while attending the function, I felt a mixed bag of emotions.”

After Best Supporting Actor (Satya, 2000) and Special Jury Award (Pinjar, 2005), this win marks Bajpayee’s third National Award. He acknowledges that in an industry that is becoming increasingly competitive, with each act outshining the other, winning this title is nothing short of an honour. “The title is bestowed upon you by jury members who are celebrated in their respective fields. If they honour you and your work that year, you can only accept the compliments with pride and humility, and shrug it off your shoulders and prepare for the next day’s shoot.”

In the pipeline for him are three mammoth projects, including one for Kannada director Raam Reddy, and Kanu Behl’s thriller, Despatch, a direct-to-OTT release. “Raam’s movie is going to be quite an experience for the audience to witness. He’s only 29-years old, but when he starts talking about philosophy, his views leave me spellbound. Kanu is a challenging director to work with. You have to be [mentally prepared] to work with him. He is brutal and may dislike every take. These young guys are making me grow, and I am going to work with them all the time. I don’t want to become [complacent]; I want to grow as an actor.”

Bajpayee is also shooting for Abhishek Choubey’s Netflix movie. “I have done two movies with him — Sonchiriya and Ray. He has many great ideas on approaching an act. Working with him is like attending an acting workshop.”

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The Tamil movie Visaranai is the official entry for Oscars this year in the foreign language category and just like last year's Marathi movie Court, this film not only managed to avoid the annual fuss created over which film is 'worthy', but was also applauded by the filmmakers.

From the tweets about regional language movies which were not heard of, to the huge posters of regional movies, next to the most awaited Bollywood releases at the cinema halls, and winning awards for best film at film festivals, the regional language films were present everywhere this year. Thanks to the mainstream actors, they even managed to reach the average movie buff. Unless you have been living off the social network, it is very unlikely that you have not found yourself googling about a particular regional movie just because your favourite Bollywood celeb tweeted or praised the film in his/her interviews. If the exhibitors are to be believed, the word of mouth not only helped in getting more publicity but also audience. They say that this is the push that regional cinema needed.

REGIONAL MOVIES FLOORED BOLLYWOOD
When Thithi was screened at the BRICS festival in the capital recently, the hall was so packed that the late arrivals had to sit on the floor. How did a Kannada movie became so popular? Thithi director Raam Reddy told us, “I am overwhelmed with the response of the audience and I was expecting it because many people came and told me that they never got to know if the film was even released in Delhi or not. It was, but just for a week.“ He further added, “People got to know about the film after it got support from Bollywood. I went to Mumbai to show my film to as many people as possible but the support that I received from Anurag Kashyap, Kiran Rao and especially Aamir Khan was really instrumental in changing the image of my film. It was really wonderful to see that people are watching a film for the content and language barrier is not stopping them. Praise by Bollywood stars made a huge difference as our national advertising budget was zero and still Thithi was seen and discussed.“

Bollywood directors like Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Sudhir Mishra and Imtiaz Ali came out in support of many regional films apart from Thithi. If Anurag Kashyap organised Thithi's special screening, then Irrfan Khan did the same for Sairat.

During an interview, Irrfan recently said, “Fortunately, now the audience is kind of exposed to the world cinema. They want a similar thing coming from India too. That's why Talvar, that's why Piku, that's why Sairat. All these films are being lapped up by the audience. Chaar crore ki film sattar crore ka business kar rahi hai.“

Last year films like Court, Killa and Kaaka Muttai also garnered good response in the mainstream space. The filmmakers (of regional movies) agree that Bollywood support helps them get publicity and more business. In an interview, Nagraj Manjule, director of Sairat said, “I never knew it would cross the language barrier so easily and in such overwhelming numbers. Today when Aamir Khan or Irrfan tweets about the film, it's a huge thing for me.“

WORD OF MOUTH PUBLICITY MEANS BETTER DISTRIBUTION
Talking about the impact of Bollywood push, Raam said, “Irrfan and Shekhar Kapur tweeted about the film. These actors have a huge fan following. Aamir has more than 17 million followers and if he tweets something, people will stop and see. Word of mouth helps because even the exhibitors get an idea on whether the film will attract audience or not. As the opinions of these actors are valued, so exhibitors know that if they allot more screens, people will come. Even in Karnataka, we had a really tough time explaining to the exhibitors what is this film about, without music and usual story. But Bollywood's reaction is valued.“

Agreeing to it, Vivek Krishnani, Managing Director of Sony Pictures India said, “Stars talking about a regional film definitely works in their favour and regional cinema is growing in mainstream space which is a good sign. The word of mouth publicity has its own importance.“ Yogesh Raizada, Corporate Head, Wave Cinemas, adds, “For a north Indian to know about a Marathi release or a Kannada release is rare, but when the information comes from a celeb route, it makes the film a must watch.“

AUDIENCE IS MATURE ENOUGH TO BE OPEN TO CONTENT, NOT LANGUAGE
The exhibitors told us that there are fantastic films that come from the regional cinema industry, and people who love cinema will appreciate the content, but the same content finding a place in the larger market is a different game altogether.

Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, said, “The regional cinema is at a different stage, so the studios have to be really alert on what content they are offering in which market. Only that can determine whether they will be successful or not. There is lot of new audience that is more concerned about the content, not whether the film is being made in language A, B or C.“

Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures, said, “Punjabi films have done well at the Box Office, Tamil and Telugu continues to do excessively well. All language movies are co-existing, you can't say these films are competing with each other, but they co-exist. A good film always works, it will always discover its audience. Ultimately, its the power of content which works. When somebody of the stature of Aamir Khan, Irrfan Khan and even Anurag Kashyap speaks about the films, it definitely creates a buzz and attracts more audience, but let's be fair and not take the credit away from the film also.“