Manoj Bajpayee has opened up about a low phase in his career before films such as Raajneeti, Gangs Of Wasseypur and Special 26 brought a significant change. He also spoke about how conversations with filmmakers Prakash Jha, director of Raajneeti, Anurag Kashyap , director of Gangs Of Wasseypur, and Neeraj Pandey, eventually led to these films. Because the kind of work he wanted to do was not coming his way, the actor recalled a time when he was turning down several offers.
Manoj was recently seen in Gajab Raat, which premiered on Netflix on October 23. Directed by Ritesh Shah and produced by Neeraj Pandey, the Hindi crime thriller unfolds over a single night in Delhi. Manoj plays a corrupt police officer whose encounter with an injured woman pulls him into a dangerous situation involving powerful people and a wider conspiracy. The film also stars Divya Dutta, Akshay Oberoi, Saqib Saleem, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Shraddha Das and Kiku Sharda.
Manoj Bajpayee on the low phase in his career
The kind of work that I wanted to do wasn’t coming my way. All I was doing was refusing films and saying no to people. The actor explained that things began to change after he watched Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday. He met the filmmaker afterwards. Around the same time, he also met Prakash Jha and was in touch with Anurag Kashyap. Neeraj (Pandey) and I had met after that and we spoke about cinema at large. That’s all I remember from that chat. I also remember meeting Prakash (Jha) ji at around the same time. Anurag (Kashyap) and I were talking simultaneously. Those films started happening to me a year after those meetings. Manoj went on to share that he continues to speak to directors every day, including many newcomers. The actor added that his focus is on building a filmography that he can be proud of.
Recalling that period, Manoj said, “Before these films, I saw some lows. And the ones I said yes to, I wasn’t happy doing those films. Talking about how these meetings eventually led to new opportunities, Manoj said, “That’s when I watched A Wednesday. He told me how he makes his films. He said these conversations help him discover interesting stories and find the kind of work he wants to do.
