Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee disclosed insights into his strained relationship with director Hansal Mehta, attributing their fallout to challenging circumstances exacerbated by his own anger. He admitted that his anger had caused conflicts not only with the acclaimed filmmaker but also with others including Anurag Kashyap and Ram Gopal Varma.
During an interview with Siddharth Kannan, he reminisced about his bond with Mehta and recounted feeling distressed when the director faced backlash from protesters following the release of their 2000 film ‘Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!!’
“It was a difficult time for all of us. My career was slipping away from me, a career which I got after a lot of hard work. Many other unwanted people got into the project, some because of me, some because of Hansal. Things weren’t right after that. Yes, you feel bad, but I’m not the sort of person who lets arguments affect him. But I felt bad that Hansal had to go through that whole protest,” he stated on the podcast.
The actor went on to reveal, “He doesn’t know this, but when that happened, I went into my bathroom and cried. How could this happen to someone like him?”
The ‘Aligarh’ star fondly cherished his relationship with the director’s parents, particularly recalling the nurturing nature of his mother. “His mother used to give me food whenever we would meet, because she thought that I must’ve not eaten. Only a mother can think like that,” he recalled.
The actor claimed that many of his disagreements with former collaborators stemmed from his rage, suggesting that handling situations differently might have led to different outcomes. Recognizing past mistakes, he expressed a newfound sense of personal growth and respect for his former collaborators, despite not regularly engaging with them.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Manoj Bajpayee is gearing up for the premiere of ‘Bhaiyya Ji,’ marking his 100th film. The movie is set to hit theatres on May 24.
