Blog

Manoj Bajpayee on what he feels went wrong: “The Industry wasn’t recognizing Talent or Offering what I sought.”

Sanjana Bailwal2 years ago2 years ago1287 mins

Manoj Bajpayee spoke about his aversion for commercial cinema and the support for independent cinema in India in a session at IFFI 2024.

Manoj Bajpayee has given a scathing assessment of the support for independent cinema and artists in India. Speaking at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, the multiple National Award winner addressed how streaming platforms also don’t offer any kind of support to independent content, and his realisation that the film industry wasn’t doing justice to the talent that was beneath it.

Manoj Bajpayee reflects Independent Cinema

On Thursday, the opening day of IFFI 2024 Manoj addressed the gathering in a masterclass. He said that non-mainstream cinema in India is in a flux. “We are at our lowest right now. We thought there is a strong platform for independent cinema, but now even the OTT platforms have stopped welcoming that kind of creativity,” said the actor, adding, “We are living in a time of uncertainty.”. It kind of reflects everywhere. One day, independent cinema will rise again. Independent cinemas are the only kind of cinema that is sticking to the definition of cinema as an art”.

Actor spoke about how he reached the crossroads of his career two decades down the line after beginning. “When I was doing Gangs Of Wassepur,I realized that this business is not going to give me what I want. They weren’t writing the kinds of scripts that I wanted and not giving opportunities to the talents who have it in them. That’s when I realized, okay, I have to look for my own directors and scripts or you just wait for eternity for that one script to happen to you, and I was desperate,” the actor said.

Manoj added that he watched many short films and found new filmmakers like Dipesh Jain (Gali Guleiyan) and Kanu Bahl (Despatch). “As an actor, mainstream films are not something I prefer; they put you into one kind of genre,” he added.

Recent work of Manoj Bajpayee’s

Manoj released four films in 2024: the dark comedy Killer Soup on Netflix, Raam Reddy’s The Fable, the police procedural Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout and his first movie as the leading man, Bhaiyyaji. He is to reprise his role of Srikant Tiwari in Season three of The Family Man, which is rumored to hit theaters in 2025.

Manoj says he cannot understand the concept of time

When quizzed by the Bhaiyya Ji actor on his favourite Christopher movie and why, he said, “Yaar dekho, Nolan mujhe samajh nahi aate zyada, main aapko sach me batau. Time ka jo concept hai na, mujhe samajhne me thodi dikkat hoti hai. Lekin koshish kar rha hu, uspe kuchh padh ke, usko samajhne ki.”.

Honestly speaking, I do not get Nolan and his films. I get totally confused regarding the concept of time. But I am trying to understand and learn through reading on it. Nor do I understand Oppenheimer.”
He further added, “Fir wo ek film thi unki war waali, World War 2 pe, Dunkirk.

The one thing that has always disturbed me is the concept of war. LOC Kargil mujhe karte hue bhi pareshani ho rhi thi. Log marte hain, ek dusre ko log maar rhe hote hain.”. Bohot disturbing sachhai hai (Then he made a war film called Dunkirk based on World War 2. The one thing that has always disturbed me is the concept of war. When I acted in LOC Kargil, I found it really hard to do. People die and they kill each other. This is a very disturbing reality).”

Unlock the secrets of Bollywood with in-depth articles and insider analyses only on BollywoodNetWorth.com!

Get the latest scoop—like, share, and follow us on Facebook @BollywoodNetWorth to stay in the loop!

Don’t miss a beat—follow us on Instagram @BollywoodNetWorth! for exclusive updates and all things Bollywood!