Manoj Bajpayee exudes immense confidence as an actor onscreen – whether as Srikant Tiwari in The Family Man or Man Singh in Sonchiriya. But when it comes to walking the ramp at a fashion show, the actor finds himself outside his comfort zone. “I am confident to walk on stage as a character, but I get very nervous when I have to walk the ramp as Manoj Bajpayee,” he said at the FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week 2022, where he walked the ramp for designer Samant Chauhan.
Manoj was the showstopper for Chauhan’s showcase on Day 1 of the fashion week, which marked his return to the ramp after 10 years. Talking about how he was feeling before the show, Manoj told News18, “If I was a professional model, I would have been in touch and in practice. Now I have forgotten everything that I have learned about it. I’ll be walking like a novice onstage. I just hope that people forgive me.”
While walking the ramp doesn’t come naturally to Manoj, he made the exception because of his long-standing relationship with the designer. “He’s a friend, he is like a younger brother. He’s somebody that I partied a lot with, whenever I’m here in Delhi. We bond also because we both come from Bihar, and we love Bihari mutton very much,” Manoj said.
Samant Chauhan recreated the rainy streets of Paris on the ramp at the FDCI x Lakme Fashion Week 2022. Sticking to shades of black, white and grey, the designer created the mood of monsoon on the ramp. Cotton clouds hung above the stage as the models walked in embroidered finery, with elements of glitter on them. While his collection was all about women, he had his close friend, actor Manoj Bajpayee, as his muse, who took to the ramp with a shy smile, wearing a grey suit.
Describing his personal style, the actor said, “It’s laidback, mostly. Classic, I enjoy, but only for occasions when there’s an award function or something that really requires you to wear those clothes, but I’m quite comfortable even in classic clothes. I can carry it off, provided the color is of my choice.”
