In a conversation with Outlook’s Lachmi Deb Roy, actor Manoj Bajpayee talks about The Family Man 2 and describes his journey in the industry as an absolute rollercoaster ride. Excerpts…
On Shrikant Tiwari in Family Man
The preparation, the methods and the approach…they keep varying for each character. We keep tweaking it to suit a particular character and that particular genre. One has to alter a few things and then approach a character. Also, when you are shooting for a series you really have to be totally into the character for a very long time, so much so that you start forgetting what your real-life behaviours are. You have to completely immerse yourself into the character. This is exactly what I did for Season 1 of The Family Man…And when you start season 2, you realise it is a new atmosphere, because the character has travelled a lot and you have to find more dimensions in the character.
We expect an equal measure of appreciation for season 2. All the actors have given brilliant performances. In season 2 you will get introduced to many Tamil actors like Samantha Akkineni, who will surprise you with her dedication and sincerity. It is going to be bigger and it is going to open a new chapter in Shrikant’s life which will be refreshing for viewers…
Journey in the industry
It has been an absolute rollercoaster ride. Most of the time I went through a terrible down phase and so much down that I sometimes got used to it, but again you go up and start focusing on things. It was always an up and down phase. But it is never about falling down only, it is about how quickly you get up and start running. How well you use your bad time or down time is what exactly I have been focusing on whenever I went through a down phase. But all in all, I have always been grateful to God, to my luck and to film-makers who believed in me. Life is a mixed bag and you cannot always have good times.
Message for newcomers…
Everybody’s journey is different. All I would say is just believe in yourself…rejection doesn’t define you and success is not permanent. Just keep working on your craft and treat each work as your last work and give everything to it. Never lose faith in yourself because that will take you through the tough phase of your life.
On Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari
It is one of the most interesting roles that I have played. I will always look back and remember those times on the set with a smile on my face. I thank the director for having that kind of belief in me where he trusted me with so many roles in one film and helped me do it well. This is the first film to release right after the lockdown when theatres started opening with fifty per cent capacity… and still garnered so much positive response. We take pride in saying that we have been courageous enough to do that and opened doors for all film-makers who released their films in theatres. It is great to be part of a successful film. And I feel good that I was able to pull up so many characters in one film.
Future projects
I am through with three projects, one is by Abhishek Choubey, one is by Rensil D’Silva and one is by Aban Bharucha Deohans. And now I am getting into a project by Kanu Behl called Dispatch. The character is very challenging and the director has a lot of expectations from me so wish me all the luck. But I don’t know where the films will be released, so I am just kind of fulfilling my commitment with all my capacity, sincerity and focus. It is up to the studios to decide where they will release it. But to me it doesn’t really matter where it gets released. Today, OTT has become as big as theatre releases used to be or may be much bigger because of the reach. What matters to me is how well I have done the role and how well I have managed to pull it off.
