Manoj Bajpayee's Faith In Independent Cinema Has Been Restored, Is Glad He Took Up 'Family Man'
Manoj Bajpayee's 30-year career has been based on highly praised films, but the actor acknowledges there was a period when he second-guessed his choice to support independent film because there was no market for his creations.
OTT and its magic!
Manoj Bajpayee's 30-year career has been based on highly praised films, but the actor acknowledges there was a period when he second-guessed his choice to support independent film because there was no market for his creations.
Manoj Bajpayee
For the National Award winner, who made his digital debut in 2019 with "The Family Man," the introduction of OTT (over-the-top) platforms changed the rules of the game.
The actor expressed his disappointment when his 2017 psychological thriller "Gali Guleiyan," a festival favourite, failed to draw crowds to theaters despite effective marketing. He used this as an example to illustrate his point.
manoj bajpayee
He claimed that somewhere down the line, a few years ago, he began to lose faith in independent film.
¡°That was the time, somewhere I started questioning my choice of supporting independent cinema. For me, it is very important that people watch it and if they are not watching it, I am not ready to make films for four-five people who will watch it¡ And that time OTT wasn¡¯t there. So, somewhere it made me sad, not that I was heartbroken,¡± Bajpayee told PTI.
The actor claimed that OTT happened to him, particularly at a time when he was hesitant to experiment with the medium.
manoj bajpayee
After the phenomenal success of Raj & DK's spy thriller series "The Family Man," things started to look up.
¡°I was thinking I am not going to be part of the clutter that is there on OTT, if it is offered to me. I had refused so many series. Then, ¡®The Family Man¡¯ and working with Raj and DK happened."
He claimed that it was unthinkable to achieve that level of accomplishment in the first season. The second season, which followed Pandemic, broke all previous records. That is the actual crossover from India. Following season one on OTT, every independent film that was released garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews.
manoj bajpayee
People are raving about 'Gulmohar' and how beautiful they found it everywhere.
He feels pleased with it because he has been working on Indian, mainstream movies with up-and-coming directors, and he had complete faith in it. In the past, things with the audience have frequently not worked out.
After "The Family Man," most of Bajpayee's films saw a transformation as they were distributed digitally.
According to Bajpayee, OTT has restored his faith in independent film.
¡°¡But now because of OTT, the audience has shown one thing, that ¡®If you come to me, I will definitely watch it and I will tell you exactly how I found it¡¯. So, people discuss the film, the performances.¡±
¡°If at all they (viewers) would go to a film that would be much more hyped up, it has to have a lot of entertainment factor in it. In India, it is a whole different game when it comes to movie going,¡± he said ¡°So, now when these films are available on OTT, they watch it in numbers, and they show faith and love. And we as makers should decide very honestly which film we are ready to send to theatres and which films should we show it on OTT,¡± he added.
In addition to this, when questioned about working with Shah Rukh in Veer Zaara in an interview with Humans of Bombay, Bajpayee stated he did the love drama for Yash Chopra after the director offered him the unique part.
¡°No offence to him (Shah Rukh), but I did this film because Mr Yash Chopra called me up and requested me to be a part of it. He was a big fan of my performance in Pinjar and once he saw the film in Delhi with Lal Krishna Advani ji, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, he was thoroughly impressed with my performance. That¡¯s when he thought of offering me this role."
manoj bajpayee
¡°It was a guest appearance; I was there only for four-five days. He treated me as good as anyone on the sets. I was welcomed so royally in that film family, the Veer Zaara family. I enjoyed every moment of shooting with Yash Chopra ji,¡± the actor said.
(Inputs from PTI)
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Iraa Paul writes for Indiatimes Entertainment section - She has equal passion for hot coffee and hot OTT content. She is a pro at suggesting movies and series to watch on the weekend or when you are having a bad day.