Manoj Bajpai: “Please Give The Superstar Tag To Someone Else”

Subhash K Jha speaks to Manoj Bajpai

Manoj Bajpai doesn’t enjoy the tag of being the superstar of the OTT platform.

In fact he is deeply mortified by the tag. “It’s very embarrassing to be tagged a star or superstar or whatever.You please give the tag to someone else. Firstly, I don’t believe in such tags. I only believe in doing my work . These titles are of no use to me.”

Manoj remains impervious to the ups and downs of his career. “I have never gotten carried away by success. Nor have I been bogged down by failure. I am not here to make money or win awards. I am here to act because I simply love the process and craft of acting.”

Manoj sees acting as not just a passion but also a job. “I am only interested in doing my job well. Of course there are the obvious benefits of your films doing well, and I’m not denying that. Nor am I saying that the money I make is not important.I am just saying that talking about it is embarrassing to me.”

So has his price been hiked after The Family Man? “When you are part of a series as phenomenally successful as The Family Man which is a success the worldover, of course your salary is hiked .I am no different from any actor who is part of a successful project. Otherwise success or failure makes no difference to me.I will keep working to the best of my abilities as long as my body allows.”

As for being called a superstar Manoj again disowns such labels. “I’ve never believed in them.I don’t believe in such labels and I don’t deserve them.”

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About The Author
Subhash K Jha: Subhash K. Jha is a veteran Indian film critic, journalist based in Patna, Bihar. He is currently film critic with leading daily The Times of India, Firstpost, Deccan chronicle and DNA News, besides TV channels Zee News and News18 India.