MUMBAI: Known for his unconventional roles and unmatchable talent, Manoj Bajpayee is one of the most respected stars in the Hindi film industry. However, his journey to fame was no cakewalk.

At the age of nine, a Bihari boy coming from a humble background knew that his life's goal was to be an actor. Before even becoming an adult, Manoj decided to pursue his dreams and moved to Delhi to do theater secretly. 

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Manoj’s stars shined overnight with Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya. However post the gangster film, Manoj found it difficult to get good roles because of him being too choosy. He said, “I realised that I don’t want to do what they are expecting me to do. All the offers that were coming my way weren’t something that I could fit myself into. Yes, the money was good. I had no money, and no work, and the biggest producers were coming to me. They came with suitcases full of money, and to say no to it was the toughest task I have ever faced. That was the time when egos were very big. People used to get offended very easily. And with every no, I was making more enemies.”

To keep his home running and for him to pay his bills, Manoj had to do dirty films. In that process he lost out on good roles and actors like Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan came up.

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Talking of finding success in RGV’s Satya, “I owe my career to him. We stay in touch. Sometimes, he calls me just to give me gaalis (abuse me). I did this music video Sapne Mein Milti Hai, I did it out of goodness. And he called me and said, ‘What have you done, the song's remix is not good’. I told him, ‘Ramu, sometimes you do things for your friends’. He said 'I know, I understand that; but why did you do it?' If I get a call from him it is mostly because he is going to really blast me or criticise me. That is the kind of relationship I have with him.”

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Credit-TOI