Manoj Bajpaaye and Preity Zinta in Veer Zaara.
Manoj Bajpaaye shared that Yash Chopra had approached him and offered him the role in his cult film Veer Zaara.
Manoj Bajpaaye recently enthralled everyone with his role in the OTT family drama Gulmohar. While the actor has a slew of stellar films under his credit, both independent as well as mainstream, Manoj Bajpaaye’s first ever brush with a huge commercial production happened in Veer Zaara. The actor recently shared how that opportunity helped him to catch up with Shah Rukh Khan as well as be part of Yash Chopra’s film even if it was a cameo.
During a freewheeling conversation with Humans Of Bombay, the Gangs Of Wasseypur actor recalled, “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. 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.”
He further added, “Shah Rukh, I have known for many years from my days in Delhi, so it was also a chance to catch up. Because we don’t meet up, we belong to two different kinds of films and filmmaking. So, it was a chance to catch up with him and also enjoy being on the sets of Mr Yash Chopra, who had been such a magnificent, successful mainstream director for so many years. We grew up watching his films! We used to chat for long, both Yash ji and me. He was very clear in telling me, ‘I don’t make films for an actor like you, so I don’t think I would have anything else in the future, but this is very good and it will be great if you agree to do it.’ He was such a humble man.”
Veer Zaara is considered to be one of the most iconic films of Yash Chopra. The cross-border love story earned widespread critical and commercial acclaim at the time of its release. The film starred Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta in the lead roles.
