I have been very fond of Kay Kay Menon: Manoj Bajpayee

Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee is ruling the digital space with his brilliant performances. A news portal caught up with the three-time National Award-winning actor for an exclusive conversation where he talked about his personal life, his fellow actors, and a lot more. Excerpts…

Manoj Bajpayee is one of the finest actors we have in Bollywood. But very little is known about his personal life. How is he as a husband and as a father – as a ‘family man’?

I try to be a sincere husband and a good father. I don’t know how much justice I am doing it with my hectic work schedule. But yet I try to make myself available. I try to meet the expectations of my wife and my child. I love them the most. There is no effort to strike a balance because they are very understanding. Most of the time it is they who adjust according to my work schedule and I feel blessed about it.

Apart from acting, what do you love and enjoy doing?

I enjoy going out to different places with my family. I love just lazing around and watching great content on OTT. I enjoy reading sometimes. I also like chatting with my family over a hot cup of tea. I love going on vacations abroad and roaming around like a commoner is what I enjoy the most. These are simple things I enjoy doing. I love going to my village and meeting people and eating food that I am always nostalgic about.

With content gaining more importance in films and with the growing emergence of OTT platforms, do you think it is the end of star power in Bollywood?

Content is indeed getting a lot of importance on OTT now. I will be very happy if the content becomes the focus of the films that are opting for theatrical releases. I feel that every creative person in the filmmaking process will be happy.

As far as stars are concerned, more than people, it is the media who want stars. They want somebody to make a headline on. Superstars are always going to be there but the nature of the superstars is going to be very different from the early ones. There are going to be way too many of them now with one in cinemas, one on OTT, one on YouTube, social media superstars, and so on. It is great to see that people have the appetite to consume the contents that are being offered to them every hour.

What are your thoughts on your fellow actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kay Kay Menon, and Pankaj Tripathi?

I feel blessed that I worked in the times of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kay Kay Menon, Pankaj Tripathi, Rajkummar Rao and Vicky Kaushal. Nawaz is a superlative actor. I have been learning so much just by watching the fantastic work that he has been doing over the years. I have been very fond of Kay Kay. He has really worked hard on his craft. Whenever I watch his performances, there is always an eye looking at the things that he is doing with his craft. I love him as a person too. Pankaj’s emergence has given me a lot of happiness. I know where he comes from. Our state, language and family culture is the same. I relate to him quite a lot. His success and rise have only given me happiness. His journey has been inspiring.

On the work front, Manoj Bajpayee will be seen next in the investigative thriller Despatch.