Happy Birthday Manoj Bajpayee: From Satya to Gangs of Wasseypur, how anti-heroes defined his career

Actor Manoj Bajpayee is celebrating his 50th birthday today. Here’s a look at his five most iconic roles with shades of grey.

When Anurag Kashyap created the character of Bhikhu Mhatre for Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya, little did he know what it would mean for the career of the actor who will be playing the gangster – Manoj Bajpayee. The career-defining performance fetched him his first National Film Award and set down a path that would take him where few actors would dare venture.

Manoj Bajpayee in Satya and Gangs of Wasseypur.

As the actor turns 50 on Tuesday, he intends to celebrate his special day and a special year that saw him being awarded with a Padma Shri. On Manoj’s birthday today, here’s looking at his real expertise – bringing nuance and depth to characters, especially the grey roles. Talking about playing grey roles, Manoj had earlier told Hindustan Times, “If you give me a negative character, I try finding something positive around it. And if you give me a positive character, my job is to find some flaws with his personality. Because no one is perfect and no one is purely evil either. All of us, we have shades of grey.”

Here’s a look at five most iconic Manoj Bajpayee roles with shades of grey:

Satya(1998)

RGV’s Bhikhu Mhatre ranks on top of any list that talks about Manoj Bajpayee’s work. His gangster act was such a hit with the public that fans call him Bhikhu Mhatre till date.

Raajneeti (2010)

In Prakash Jha’s version of the Mahabharat set in India’s dynasty politics, Manoj played the Duryodhana aka Pratap, the political rival to the protagonist of this political-thriller drama, Prithviraj Chandra. Manoj aced the role of the ambitious, power-hungry politician in this film that also started Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Ajay Devgn.

Manoj Bajpayee in Raajneeti.

Aarakshan (2011)

Manoj Bajpai deftly stepped into this role where he played the villain in a film on the u’ll practices around our education system. Mithilesh Singh is the henchman of a fraudulent state minister and the main mastermind behind corrupt coaching and tuition institutes.

Manoj Bajpayee in Aarakshan.

Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)

Perhaps the darkest of all characters Manoj has played, Sardar Khan is a lusty, immoral and criminal person. “I had to unlearn the craft and look so real that it should not feel like acting,” Manoj later said about the film.

Satyagraha (2013)

In this Prakash Kha film loosely based on the Anna Hazare movement for Lokpal bill, Manoj was the corrupt politician.

Manoj Bajpayee in Satyagraha.

Follow @htshowbiz for more