Manoj Bajpayee: OTT Is A Democratic Platform, Where You Are Free To Create Your Content, There Is No Pressure Of Box-Office Collection

Manoj Bajpayee has had a fantastic 2023 till now. His ‘Gulmohar’ was released on Disney+ Hotstar and became one of the biggest releases of that month. Now, he has ‘Bandaa’ coming up on Zee5. He has sort of become the king of OTT releases. ‘Bhonsle’, ‘Mrs. Serial Killer’, ‘Silence…Can You Hear It?’, ‘Dial 100’, ‘The Family Man’, ‘Ray’, ‘Gulmohar’ and now ‘Bandaa’ – he is nailing every one of these releases on OTT.

Talking to Prateek Sur, Manoj Bajpayee opens up about the advantages of the new-age OTT platforms, the downside of it, why they decided to release ‘Bandaa’ on OTT, and lots more. Excerpts from the candid chat:

You've done numerous characters in your career, but a lawyer's character is something that you're probably doing for the first time. So, was that an important factor, which is why you picked up ‘Bandaa’?

The important factor was the story itself, story in something that needed to be told, and it was written in such a great fashion and the character itself was in such a track of an ordinary man, the ordinariness of this lawyer, and in the manner, he deals with this very sensitive case, with the resolve he gets after it, without even making it too intense is something that I love. I realised that this is something where I can do something new and I can explore new things, while performing this character.

The story is picked up from a real life story, however, not many common people know about it. Were you aware of the entire incident before the film came to you?

Oh, yes, most of the people who like to read and be aware of all the happenings in the country, I was aware of the case and I was following it. So, I knew many of the details of it. But having said that, I must tell you that when you're doing a courtroom drama, and if it is written well, you should be ready to learn 1000s of lines, and hundreds of legal technical words, which are very, tiring and still, you have to make it interesting for the audience.

Also, you’re collaborating with Suparn Verma again after a long time. Tell us a bit about this association with him. How did your association with him start, and how has it changed over the years?

We met each other through Hansal Mehta, and he was a journalist there and slowly he turned a scriptwriter and how he turned into a director is the journey that I have seen very closely and since then, we have been slammed. Now we are more than friends and are people who are very, very close and we are people, we're always looking for each other, looking out for each other. Suparn is somebody whose journey gives me an immense amount of happiness. I know where he is and how much he has gone to in terms of achieving what he has achieved. He is the creative producer of the film. He was there to facilitate the director and take care of all the creative stuff from a distance and he's done it so well.

If you had to describe Poonam Chand Solanki in one word, what would that be?

He is relentless completely in his whole behaviour, in his persona and the way he dealt with this case that itself says so much about him.

In today's time, if you see God men have become extremely powerful and well connected even in the political world, do you think somehow these core men are taking advantage of people's beliefs in God and are using that trust for their own personal growth?

I would say that in a few cases, I would like to believe that few cases cannot completely malign all the people who are there to serve the people okay and show them the right path to live or the right path to come close to the god. Having said that, I must say that all the incidents which are put into it are there in the public domain. More than religious, I am more of a spiritual person, we have our guru and we know how important it is to have a spiritual guru. The responsibility lies with the teachers also that they never let down their disciples.

Has there been any real-life incident in your life where you got influenced by a god man, or people asked you to follow a certain godman, when you were in your struggling days?

I have a spiritual guru who doesn't even like to, doesn't allow us to take his name. So, I will not delve too much into it. But yes, we are into spiritual practices. And it has really helped us quite a lot, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

Also, ‘Bandaa’ is coming on Zee5. Why did you guys decide to take the OTT route rather than going through theatrical first and then come to odd any specific reason?

We all wanted it to be theatrical. But the surveys were saying something else and Zee studios have surveys and data which was kind of discouraged us from going to the theatrical. But having said that, I must tell you that the Zee Studio is also thinking about releasing it one week after the streaming in select theatres. Just to see the response of the people, how they respond to it in the theatre.

Also, you're probably one of the very few big stars who has consistently worked on OTT films and shows since the past four or five years. When you decide to do OTT for the first time were there people who advised you against it? Were the people who said don't take up OTT?

They were reluctant. I would say they were not that much excited. I will not blame them because everybody thought that it was a serial. There was no difference between series and serial. They could not really see any difference there. But over the years, they realised the importance of it. And also, the pandemic and the lockdown, has really given such a boost to OTT. We think that it is becoming difficult for people even now to get out of that world and go to the theater. But I know that theater viewing will be back and OTT and movie going will be flooded together simultaneously.

Do you feel that OTT has boosted great content and varied types of stories are coming out from you all over the country?

OTT is a democratic platform, where you are free to create your content, the way you have seen it the way you want to do it, and it also gives a lot of responsibility that you would now sense with that kind of freedom, what you do with it is very, very important. And some of the filmmakers have enchanted the audience so that people are hooked on OTT. The new world stories, new content, new kinds of performances, new kinds of music, all of it. So, OTT has shown me a new world of creativity and content that has completely left the audience in order for OTT. Since, three years, it has been entertaining the audience superbly. I mean, two and a half years in the lockdown. They didn't have anything else but the OTT and OTT has not let them down.

So, what in your perspective as an actor is the best advantage of this platform?

The advantage is that you can create. There is no pressure of box-office collection. There is no pressure of somebody telling you what you should do with your creativity and what you should not do. You can go ahead and experiment and explore over a bit your own craft, your own story of storytelling that people are there to watch and welcome it.

But how do you feel somewhere in the future? Is there going to be a downside? Since you know you are in the middle of all of this? So probably, many people are not aware, do you think this massive OTT boom can also have a downside?

There will never be a downside if OTT keeps making great content. Downside can be caused by only one thing the day it is censored.

So you have been training students in acting as well, you have done our show as well as on the same when you teach your students do you impart knowledge about the ills of the film industry as well? Like, do you make your people aware of the things that can go wrong and you know, they need to be cautious of?

The student themselves, they'll they keep coming to me, they keep asking me as to how to move around and how to approach the classroom directors, how to how to move inside the film industry, where to go, what is the right path to take, whatever experience one has, where you share it with them, but not necessarily you know, it falls through for everyone because my journey is going is very different from the journey that they are going with that they are having, they are born in a different time I was born in a different time I entered the industry completely in a different time. Now, things haven't changed. So their own approach will be decided by their own self and don't you improvise a lot while you are in this industry? You make amends, you correct yourself, you correct your ways, you go five steps forward, you go three steps backward. This is this is this is the way life is.

There are so many highs and lows which actors face and this entire topic of depression and mental health has become a very huge deal today in the industry. So, when you mentor and guide your students do you tell them ways or ideas about how to overcome that or curtail that?

First of all, you have to learn to be busy. Even when you don't have work. There is a lot to do when you don't have work. That is something that they have to remember. You can't sit idle at home and wait for the work to have happened. Create work on your own. Keep practicing and it is practice that makes you perfect. And it is very, very true with that team that if you think that you are only going to add when you get the role, then you are wasting your time. You are not, this is the time we should work on ourselves. So that you can do justice, complete justice to the opportunity you may get in future.

What would be your biggest takeaway from ‘Bandaa’? Something that you will always remember for life?

Okay, the biggest takeaway is the director Apoorv Singh Karki. Such a fine director, fine young man, and a fine director to work with.

You've already had ‘Gulmohar’ and now ‘Bandaa’ this year, what next? What can we expect from you in the coming time?

September - October my new series called ‘Soup’ will be streaming on Netflix. Still, we are not clear about the dates where I had the opportunity to work with Konkona Sensharma, collaborating with after at least 22 years. And Nasser from Tamil industry. He’s such a great actor. The show’s got so many great new talents, you'll get to see.