AImost two and a half decades ago, Manoj Bajpayee decided that he "wouldn't ever settle as an actor". The year was 1998; Satya was released A to rave reviews and unprecedented box-office success, and Bajpayee had become an overnight sensation.
At the time, the Khans were ruling the industry and Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar were making their mark. There was definitely no place for an outsider, not for an average Joe, anyway. And Bajpayee was a National School of Drama reject, a theatre veteran from Bihar with dreams of making it as an actor. Nobody had imagined that Bhiku Mhatre, Bajpayee's character from Satya, would become so popular and even win a national award. However, it brought him a flood of negative characters. But he was against being typecast as a "villain" The son of a farmer, who was staying in a rented flat in Mumbai, was bold enough to reject multiple offers, and the big money that came with it.
This story is from the June 04, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the June 04, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
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