Manoj Bajpayee: People don’t know that I’m a writer too

Manoj Bajpayee

When we get on a call with Manoj Bajpayee, he opens the conversation, saying, "You'll be proud of me by the end of this year." We immediately respond that we're almost always proud of him and his films. Easily one of the finest Hindi actors of our generation, Bajpayee has built a robust filmography, and shone bright last year with Gulmohar, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, and Joram. For 2024, he has an equally diverse slate, beginning with Netflix's crime series, Killer Soup that also stars Konkona Sen Sharma and is helmed by Abhishek Chaubey.

"What I'm looking forward to in 2024 is the result of my love for a variety of genres," says Bajpayee. "Last year, if I had the middle-of-the-road Gulmohar, I did a
content-heavy project like Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and an independent movie, Joram. Similarly, this year, there will be mainstream, middle-of-the-road and independent cinema. I begin with Killer Soup, then there is the [sequel to] Silence… Can You Hear It?, director Raam Reddy's Pahadon Mein that is travelling to many film festivals, and Kanu Behl's investigative thriller Despatch."

The production went on floors in September 2023

This year, the actor will also have a brush with production, with Bhaiyya Ji. While he had produced Missing (2018) under the banner of Manoj Bajpayee Productions, Bhaiyya Ji will mark the launch of Aurega Studios that is headed by the actor's wife Shabana and his business partner Vikram Khakhar. "Shabana is handling everything, including the creatives and administration. Bhaiyya Ji is a larger-than-life character from the hinterlands of north India. The film is inspired by a true incident. The story was on my mind for years. I wanted to make a middle-of-the-road movie, but director Apoorv Singh Karki was intent on making an action entertainer. Our association on Bandaa has been so good, and he was so insistent that I had to give up that thought. It is a mainstream, formula film with lots of action. That said, it's not a mindless entertainer, it has my sensibilities."

Interestingly, Bajpayee has also written the story with screenplay by Deepak Kingrani, marking the actor's foray into screenwriting. "People don't know that side of me - that I am a writer too. I stopped writing after I left theatre. Until then, I used to write street plays. I left it as acting takes so much time, and I put in so much passion into every role that I play."