Manoj Bajpayee Reflects On The Dark Side Of Showbiz Recalls Being Compared To Adult Star & Facing Harsh Racist Remarks From Film Critics: “That Hurt Me”
The Family Man star also revealed how a critic called him an adult star for his movie Fareh. Read on
Manoj Bajpayee Recalls Facing Racist Remarks In His Initial Career Days ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Manoj Bajpayee is an exceptional actor known for his natural, effortless acting style. The actor recently revealed how critics looked down on him for not having conventional looks, as he termed them racists. After his movie failed, Bajapyee was once compared to an adult star; the actor admitted to feeling hurt by such a remark. He is currently busy promoting his film Bhaiyya Ji as he recalls his initial days in the industry.
Bajpayee is a celebrated artist with three National Film Awards to his credit. He got his breakthrough with Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya and went on to movies like Shool, Rajneeti, and others, solidifying his position in showbiz. He also established himself in the OTT with his much-appreciated performance in The Family Man series, earning him the Filmfare OTT Awards for Best Actor.
In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, the Bhaiyya Ji actor opened up about facing racism in the film industry in the initial days of his career. Manoj Bajpayee revealed he faced criticism for playing Maharaja Vijayendra Singh in Karisma Kapoor and Rekha starrer Zubeidaa. He recalled, “Some critics wrote, ‘He’s good, but he doesn’t fit the role; he’s good, but he doesn’t look like a prince.’ I thought these people are so liberal and evolved that they do not realise they are such big racists. They were too racist.”
Manoj Bajpayee mentioned showing it to his peers, saying, “Then I showed it to a few of my friends. I said, ‘How should I take it?’ They said ‘Spit it off, this is biased and in its core it is a racist thing.’ But today, when I was doing interviews for Bhaiyya Ji, four out of five journalists were talking about my performance in Zubeida.” The Family Man star also revealed how a critic called him an adult star for his movie Fareh.
He added, “I did a film called Fareh; it wasn’t well made, and it failed; it happens sometimes. Somebody wrote, ‘Now Bhikhu Matre of Satya has become a p**n star.’ That hurt me; it really offended me.”
Manoj Bajpayee continued, “No reviewer has the right to go that dirty. You can talk about my film, how it is made. How does that make me a p**n star? There is nothing I did in that film to suggest that. Now, my filmography is there for everyone to see. You will get your answers there.”
On the professional front, Manoj Bajpayee’s action drama Bhaiyya Ji is slated to be released in the theatres on May 24.
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