My offbeat choices definitely don't get me too much money because they are made in a very restrained budget. We do it because we love cinema, because we are passionate about the content and new ways of storytelling.
— Manoj Bajpayee
My father is somebody I admire and would like to be. He is a mild man and a gentleman. Even though he was from a conservative background, he was so open to my doing theatre.
For me, when I choose a script, I put my heart and soul into it, and that is exactly what I look for in a film. A good film is a good film. And if it's a bad film, irrespective of whether it's made 300 crores or 200 crores or any amount of money, it doesn't matter to me.
For me, it's always the script. The script which gives me the chance to do something new; that has been my prime objective ever since I started acting. There's nothing else that excites me more than that.
At 50-60, people either retire or they start falling sick, but 'Swami' is a person who will always remain strong. He has lots of expectations. He wants to fulfil his dreams and is very honest. First you play a character; then you play the age.
Nepotism has always existed in Bollywood.
Acting is the most difficult job in the world.
Talent alone doesn't matter in this industry, and everyone knows this. If someone says, 'Good films are done', 'Talent always survives', there are other factors, too, which are far more important.
When I came to industry, theatre persons were regarded as those people who will only ask questions and will be an annoying factor on the set, and there was no preference given to them.
The 10 years of theatre prepared me not only as an actor but also as a human being. It gave me the habit of reading, watching, and preserving.
For me, if awards are not increasing my remuneration or adding value to the offers that I get, they have no meaning.
Before moving to Delhi at the age of 17, I had only travelled to Patna or Varanasi outside Belwa.
For me, money has never been an indicator. And it is very sad that each and every film these days is being judged by the money that it makes. It's a world that I don't want to be a part of, and I try and stay away from that.
There has to be some newness in the story or, at least, some aspect of the movie. I get bored if the story is told in the same way all the time. I get bored easily.
I don't think I play only serious characters.
Watching an Amitabh Bachchan film in my village was a cinematic treat.
An actor is nothing without the vision of the director. The director needs to have a vision that will cross boundaries, that makes the audience sit on the edge of their seats and that pushes the envelope.
That's realism: a fact that if the audiences don't move out and watch good films at the theatre, people will stop making them.
In 'Queen,' songs were the part of events happening in the story, and that is where we enjoy music. We dance at weddings, we lip sync at bars and discos, and there are special moments in life which need background music. It should be depicted in films in the same way.
I think theatre is an actor's medium, while cinema is a director's medium.
I am a mix of both my parents. Like my father, I don't let my dreams die; I'm shy and respect women. However, if I am pushed against the wall, I attack like my mother.
The second child of a small farmer with six children, I come from a village in Bihar on the border of Nepal called Belwa. I was there till the age of 17 and studied in a Hindi-speaking boarding school run by Catholics in a nearby district town.
We live in a democratic country, and I take great pride in saying that I'm from India, a country where democracy is worshipped and freedom of expression is part and parcel of any person's fundamental right.
I don't like to work. I am not helpless without work. Work is an obsession for me.
If one person from their fraternity is a little above average, they are celebrated as if they are the most gifted individuals. And who is enhancing their cause? It's a section of the media.
For most actors, it is the script that chooses them and not the other way around.
For me, life is starting every day, every year. There's a lot to be done!
I work for the director, and if audience are happy, I have gotten my award. After that, I have to move on.
Earlier films were meant only for entertainment, but now filmmakers, who are products of these times, do not compromise on real stuff. That is why storytelling has become more convincing.
I had to either get better or leave the field. I couldn't go back to my village as a failure. The only thing that occurred to me was that I would work hard and get better next year. I feel that my love for the craft has got me this far, and this love is still there.
