Manoj Bajpayee looks back at 2021, The Family Man 2, National award win and more-Entertainment News , Firstpost

2021 was an exceptional year for you. You were officially crowned the Family Man of India. How seriously do you take that responsibility?

Subhash, you know me. I take neither failure nor success too seriously. They are both part of the same cycle of life, and we have to accept both. I’m taking the compliments and praise coming my way with a lot of humility. At the same time, I am never bogged down by expectations and responsibility.

Why is that?

Because I haven’t changed with success or failure. Either way, I’ve always been a very responsible actor. Every assignment of mine is equally important to me. I have never differentiated between big and small projects. To me, they are all big. And I will continue to be the same. I will choose the assignments very carefully, not to fulfil expectations but to satisfy the hunger within me as an actor. I’ve told you this before: repetition is death for me.

You have. And you remain the same down-to-earth guy?

I take the compliments and the criticism with equal humility. I never get carried away by success. There are two ladies in my life to make sure I remain grounded: my wife and daughter. If I strut around like a star they will probably laugh so hard my balloon will be punctured.

Family Man 2 took your career to another level in 2022?

I am also proud of my other OTT releases this year: Silence…Can You Hear It?, Dial 100 and Hungama Hai Kyon Barpat from the Ray anthology on Netflix for which both Gajraj Rao and I were immensely praised. But let me tell you, 2022 is going to be very different from the content I shot for last year. So I am looking forward to the coming year. June-July onwards in 2022, all my new content will start streaming. They are all my passion projects. So I am eager to see how audiences react to them.

You sound as enthused with your forthcoming content as you were in 2021?

Yes I am very excited. I continue to be enthused by my work. It is a renewable process. Every year I make sure I look forward to the following year by doing the work that I haven’t done earlier. Luckily I am never short of options. I am lucky to have worked with such brilliant directors in recent times like Devashish Makhija, Deepesh Jain and Abhishek Chaubey.

In fact you are now shooting a secret project with Abhishek Choubey?

Yes, Abhishek is one of my most favourite directors. He is among the finest filmmakers in the country It’s a privilege to be directed by him. I learn so much just by being on the set with him. The way he treats his actors, the way he helps actors get all the nuances right…I’ve learnt so much from him. I am also very happy for Aban Deohans and Rensil d’Silva whose films with me Silence and Dial 100 have done well.

What according to you were your other significant works and achievements during the year?

I got the National award for Bhonsle and also a Filmfare award for Family Man. I have just shot three fantastic films directed by Kanu Behl, Ram Reddy and Abhishek Choubey. Hopefully audiences will like me in these, as I have tried to do things that I’ve never done before. I’d say these are significant moves ahead for me.

Which were your favourite shows during the year other than yours?

Oh many. I loved Tabbar directed by Ajitpal Singh and produced by Ajay Rai. I just finished watching Aranyak which features my old pal Raveena Tandon with whom I had done one of my career-changing films Shool. That’s also a good series. Then I saw so many remarkable Malayalam films in 2021 like Joji and Kurup. When you see great work happening in every language it humbles you. It makes you pull up your own socks and stops you from getting complacent. There are such wonderful actors all over the country, I am learning from all of them. I want to evolve, keep evolving.

Interestingly Kane Williamson during his interview with you, named The Family Man as his favourite series?

Kane was actually pulling my leg when he said that. But I’m after him to watch Family Man and he has promised to get back to me after he finishes watching it.

Looking ahead, what are your plans for 2022 and do you live in a state of uncertainty because of the continuing Covid crisis?

Uncertainty unpredictability….have become the norm in our lives. Whenever I hear of another lockdown I become really sad, because I want to keep working. I don’t want any of my work to be pending. I don’t want any backlog. I want civilisation to be saved. I want all of us to get back to our normal lives. I want the smiles to return on everyone’s life.

The thought of another lockdown depresses you?

Not depressed…that’s too strong a word. But sad. It makes me sad. And also a little nervous. So many directors are waiting to start their films. When I look at their anxiety, I get very sad. They don’t deserve this. No one deserves this.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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