Manoj Bajpayee opens up about National Award snub

Updated On: 08 September, 2025 07:41 AM IST | Mumbai | Priyanka Sharma

Ahead of the release of Jugnuma, Manoj Bajpayee feels that the top film honours in the country need correction as he reflects on the National Award snub for Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai

Listen to this article :

A still from ‘Jugnuma’

Pondering about the past is not in Manoj Bajpayee’s nature. Why should he when the present holds so much promise? But, at a point in our chat, we take him back to Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai (2023), which won Deepak Kingrani the National Film Award for best dialogue. The writer had told mid-day, at the time, that he wished Bajpayee too had won the gong for his powerful performance. Did the actor wish the same?

“More than me, the people associated with the film were sad. I don’t feel sad because a few people [comprising the jury] have decided not to give it to me. They must have their own reasons, with which I may or may not agree. It has happened in the past, even at National Awards, where one truly deserved it, but didn’t get it. If I complain about it, I will sound like a loser. All the award systems in the country have to look within. They have to correct their system. I can’t correct it, right? I’ve moved on,” he says.

Manoj Bajpayee