"I got jealous of Irrfan" Manoj Bajpai

Manoj Bajpai in a tete-e-tete with india-forums.com

Actor Manoj Bajpayee is known for his resplendent histrionics. A two time National Award winning actor, Manoj has reason to celebrate again as  his film '1971' has won a National Award for best feature film. He will soon be seen in Acid Factory, a multi-star cast project.

In conversation with the actor…
 

What made you sign up for Acid Factory?


It was during the time I had taken a break that Acid Factory happened to me. It was post Das Kahaniya, when I had a clean shaven my head.  I happened to meet Sanjay Gupta and he told me that he liked my look! When I simply laughed he insisted that he was serious and told me that I should go through his next script. So the next day I had him come over for dinner where we discussed the script. Once I went through it, I realized that as an actor I had a chance to do something new.

What is your character all about?

I'm playing the character of a police inspector. He is loyal and has just a few good memories. Sometimes he is emotional, sometimes funny. He is also angry, no aggressive. He is unpredictable too! You never know how he is going to react. All in all you can sum him up as an affable eccentric.
 
Sanjay Gupta is always known as a friend of friends, what is your personal experience with him?

Sanjay Gupta is our family friend who never needs an invitation to come to my place. Sometimes he just calls and says, "I want to eat this. Keep it ready, I'm coming for lunch or dinner." So you know, our equation is like that. And yes, he is truly a friend's friend and more importantly a very good person. We get along like a house on fire and deeply enjoy each other's company.
 

Tell us something about Acid factory. In promos we see some resemblance of Kaante?

Acid factory is a typical Sanjay Gupta sort of film. The characters are fascinating, and techniques used for shoot are very good. Since each filmmaker has a distinct signature style, it is visible in all their films. Same is with Sanjay. But the story has its own uniqueness. Whole film is shot in one single factory and it features so many good actors like Dia Mirza, Fardeen Khan, Aftab Shivdasani, Danny Denzongpa, Irrfan Khan and Dino Morea For that director Suparn and Sanjay have worked very hard so that each gets their due. And no, it is not Kaante. It's a very gripping film but there's no question of resemblance to anything. Sahil, the cinematographer, is totally new. That itself gives the movie a fresh touch.
 
Can you share some of your shooting experience with us?

Whole shooting of the movie was done at Ramoojirao film city, and to reach there from Hyderabad city, all the actors had to travel everyday for almost two hours. Sanjay Gupta, is a friend for all(laughs), so every day he threw a party. We would party till modnight, and then go to sleep. It was essential for everybody to attend the party. If by chance anyone missed, then he would have to listen to a dressing down from the director. But it was fun.
Aftab, Dino, Irrfan, Fardeen all used to join the party after they were done with gym. But I and director Suparn, even at the party would just sit and discuss the next day's scenes, and only then relax. Because of this we were called workaholics! 
 
Out of all of you only Irrfan got a female partner. Did you ever feel jealous??

Common, we were around five six guys but only Irrfan got the privilege to get paired with Diya. Naurally, all the other guys were damn jealous of him! We used to wonder aloud- Why is he the only one getting the girl? So we would all pass comments at him.  But I got a consolation prize because my wife Shabana is doing a special appearance in the film!
 
Starting from Satya till now, how do you see you journey has been? Did you feel that this industry has been able to utilize your acting abilities?


If you take a look at my filmography… Satya, Shool, Kaun, Aks all my movies have been very different from one another and with Acid Factory too, I've tried to keep up the trend. I have tried to be totally diverse, look wise, performance wise, character wise and time wise also. And my efforts have only been encouraged by Suparn who gives everyone a wide scope to play our characters and is always welcoming ideas and suggestions.
As far as my career is concerned, I consider myself blessed because I have had lots of quality movies with good directors and the going's been good both on personal and professional front. Still as an actor I am looking for more variety role, bigger roles, better production houses and more!
 
What is your dream role??

My dream role is to play Devdas but no such luck as SRK has already done the classic Devdas and Abhay Deol has played the contemporary Devdas!

Reporter and Author: Susan Jose
 

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Fardeen Khan Thumbnail

Fardeen Khan

Dino Morea Thumbnail

Dino Morea

Dia Mirza Thumbnail

Dia Mirza

Manoj Bajpayee Thumbnail

Manoj Bajpayee

Aftab Shivdasani Thumbnail

Aftab Shivdasani

Danny Denzongpa Thumbnail

Danny Denzongpa

Acid Factory poster

Acid Factory

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