Manoj Bajpayee Used To Work 18 Hours a Day Without Money Because…

From Shool to Gangs of Wasseypur and Special 26 or Satyameva Jayate among others; Manoj Bajpayee has surely come a long way in the showbiz industry. However, do you know there was a time when the actor had just moved from New Delhi to Mumbai and was therefore struggling to get work. In a recent interview, the actor recalled those days and revealed how he had no food or money back then. He mentioned how he used to work 18 hours a day without money because of ‘creative satisfaction’.

“It was a very bad phase of my life when I came from Delhi to Mumbai, I used to work 18 hours a day in Delhi without money, in theatre, but there was a creative satisfaction. Pata nahi hota tha ki khaana kaha se aayega (I did not know from where I would get my next meal from). I had no money, but God was kind. I was busy despite the starvation. But when I came here (to Mumbai), I had no work, no food, no money. I began to doubt my talent and myself, this was in the ’90s,” Manoj said as quoted by Indian Express.

The actor further recalled being rejected almost by all producers and added, “I was very weak physically, and wherever I used to go, be it a set or a producer’s office, I was shown the door almost immediately, there were no casting directors back then.”

Manoj Bajpayee shared that even though his 2003 film Pinjar is called one of his ‘finest’ performances, the film failed at the box office and therefore started his ‘bad phase’ again. “When I would go to a gathering, cameramen, reporters and anchors, they would turn their mic and cameras away from me. I wouldn’t feel bad, because I knew I needed only one role to get back in the saddle, and that role was given to me in Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti,” the actor shared.

Meanwhile, Manoj Bajpayee is gearing up for the release of Gulmohar which will stream on Disney Plus Hotstar on March 3.