I personally feel that no human is a hero or a villain. All of us have our grey sides, and that is why grey interests me: because it's more human, more life-like.
— Manoj Bajpayee
Stars have always been very good at what they do. They are born and blessed with charisma and power over the entire nation. One glimpse of a star makes people go berserk. Such magic cannot be created. You are born with it - or not.
I am a family man. The only difference between me and others is that while they work in corporate offices, I am an actor. I, too, like to go back home after work. I don't mind stopping to pick up groceries.
I'm an actor because I love acting, and my romance with this craft called acting is too intense. I'm in this business for a very selfish reason, and that is me, and nobody else. The audience loving it is by chance.
Actors like me endeavour to look for great roles and portraying them to the best of our ability. At times, it's noticed; at times, it's not.
After 'Satya,' the industry could not think of me as anything but the villain. They were stereotyping me on the basis of my looks. I lost so much money refusing such roles - the purchase of a new house got delayed by seven years because I said no.
If you are working in the Hindi film industry, you cannot escape playing a police guy more than three times.
My lowest point came when I shifted to Mumbai in 1993. Nothing was happening. This is right after I did 'Bandit Queen.' I had no way to tell people that I know my job. There was no casting department here. All the commercial films that were happening in those days did not have any place for me.
I have made a career of flop films. And yet, 90 percent of my films are celebrated.
Even as a child, I was witness to protests against a film or a play or a book. All through my growing years, I found various people or organisations protesting against something.
I feel proud when my old films are still talked about and 'Zubeidaa' is one of them. It has been directed by one of the great filmmakers of the country, Shyam Benegal.
It is important to move on from the laurels of the past. I can't let success go to my head.
Even the finest actors will have great difficulty showing somebody's loneliness. To put an actor on a chair and ask him to do nothing and yet tell the viewer everything about the character, it's a difficult task.
When a common man is discouraged to buy a movie ticket, it becomes a concern for the entire film industry. I think entertainment tax is too steep.
I don't like anything I see of myself on screen. I might like one scene or a few shots, but mostly I feel bad and keep kicking myself.
If the director has clarity of thought and vision, you are bound to just go ahead and do what he wants to do. I respect that.
The kind of films and roles I do were never in competition with any star kid. Their aspirations are completely different.
John Abraham is a really good guy. We get along very well. It's a nice thing when you have a great tuning with your co-stars, as it makes the working experience all the better. Then you look forward to working with each other every day when you are shooting.
I am probably the best example of an actor who has built his career on flops.
I am not a star. My face is not the kind that 50,000 people will faint just looking at it.
When an artiste says that, after two heavy films, let me do a light one, somewhere they want to balance it out for the audience, not for themselves.
Commercial cinema is necessary to get money, but to get respect, it's necessary to keep coming up with good content and giving a chance to the talent whose craft and skill is immaculate.
We actors should be given the highest awards for performing in the middle of people. I can prepare in the most crowded of places, and I know how to take a journey into my mind and separate myself from the crowd. I can act anywhere.
People who have been watching my performances, my films, have been a big support. If they are proud of my filmography and work, I am proud of what I have done.
My job is to take out the negativity from a positive guy and take out the positivity from a negative guy. I don't play positive or negative roles. This is what I find fascinating about acting.
I work at my own pace, and I work really well when I am not running around.
I am known by my performance, so neither do big films need me nor do I big films.
I have a lot of respect for PM Narendra Modi, as he works hard day and night and doesn't sleep more than 4 hours. So I am thinking of gifting him chewing gum, as he will chew that and will take rest and take care of his health.
I am not Padma Shri Manoj Bajpayee. I am Manoj Bajpayee, an outsider who saw dreams and stayed on the fringes of Mumbai and worked day and night to get work.
I don't approach my character in a set pattern. I want to get into the skin of the character. I don't love Manoj Bajpayee; I love all my characters. And that is why people today remember all my roles.
I would really want all my films to make money. But this weekend calculation is the most dangerous thing because, based on the amount collected in the first weekend, they start declaring the film a hit or a flop. It can't be.
Deconstructing your performance is the curse an actor has to live with. That's why I don't watch my films.
Films like 'Satyamev Jayate' help in getting some distributors and financiers for films like 'Gali Guleiyan' which give me a lot of satisfaction.
Multiplexes are being very unkind to small films. They are giving a lot more space and value to the big budget films rather than distributing show timings fairly. But that fight will go on.
I have always believed that an actor cannot afford to have a favorite genre. He must excel in every kind of film and fit in with every director's vision.
Manoj Bajpayee is a husband, a father, and an actor. He doesn't see his life beyond that.
I've no problems with cuss words. All of us use them. Those who say they don't are lying. People can tolerate English cuss words but find the Hindi ones a bit revolting.
My job is not to make you happy. As a filmmaker and as an actor, my job is not to make you feel happy. If you're used to those kind of films, don't come and watch my films.
For me, portraying a character is not about liking or disliking it; it's about meeting a challenge that's thrown at you.
Independent films are the ones with the great possibility of keeping you on your toes, challenging your craft and skills, and forcing you to learn something new.
I don't take anything for granted from any director. I am just a slave of my director.
When you have a child, you have to have a hawk eye. You have to be with the child all the time.
I knew I am not star material. I cannot sing or dance, nor am I good for action. I can only perform for which strong, diverse roles are needed.
I am a known actor who wants to challenge himself in difficult roles. I am not a star but an actor, so I am always looking for strong scripts and strong roles.
Struggle teaches you a lot of things, and I am happy that I witnessed a roller coaster ride. The journey has improved me as a person and made me more mature.
I've accepted loads of criticism and sacrificed so much money to do what I wanted to do - which, in a very small way, contributed to making things easy for my kind of actors.
My career has been a roller coaster ride. And every actor experiences that phase.
People should start appreciating films where women are at the centre.
There never were any roles for my kind of acting. That's the story of my life.
What I am used to is 'Gali Guleiyan,' and people talking about my performances, what new I have tried in terms of my craft or the skill of storytelling.
