If there's an actor that is the deciding factor of whether to watch a film or series, it has to be Manoj Bajpayee. He is from the lot that appeals masses from all classes. An inspiration for all the budding actors and the established ones, as Bajpayee turns 52, he recalls the era when every actor apart from the mainstream 'hero' was considered trash.

Speaking at the Jaipur Literature Fest (JLF), the actor said pandemic played a major role in bridging the gap between talent and six-pack-abs. The way audience changed their consumption pattern amidst the lockdown increased the demand for meaningful content and assertive characters. 'Anybody who was doing any role, other than the hero's, was treated like a second-class citizen, on the set, by the audience, on the posters or at the award functions," Bajpayee said.


'That something never went down well with me, and also for that reason I never wanted to shift to Bombay. Because I realised that at the most they can give me a villain's role but at the end it was all about heroes and celebrating heroes,' he further quoted.

As per the actor, things have drastically changed in the last decade, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. 'It has really changed the whole dynamics of filmmaking, the main character or the secondary characters. It has really given a level-playing field to all the talent,' the actor said in a segment titled 'Pure Evil: The Bad Men of Bollywood."

Considering Nana Patekar as a pathbreaker, Bajpayee said the Parinda star was the pioneer in playing characters that added value and weightage to the films.

'Nana Patekar is one actor who is not praised enough. He is one talent who has given a position to all the theatre actors or the true actors in the time when commercial cinema was really ruling the box office or the industry,' he said.


As the actor turns 52, he is loaded with projects (movies and web series) that has barely given him a breather. Last year in October, the Satya actor lost his father who was critically ill for quite some time. Being occupied with work, so much so that he isn't taking any new movies, the actor has officially ran out of dates. This is a good problem for us because we'll be seeing more of him on the big screen or OTT platforms.

We wish the actor a very happy birthday!