Manoj Bajpayee explains why he is in quarantine with family in Uttarakhand: ‘Better to stay here than an urban congested area’

Manoj Bajpayee is in self-isolation with his family in Uttarakhand for more than a month now. He was shooting there when his family came to visit and they took a collective decision to stay in the hills rather than travel back to Mumbai.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee had the most hatke birthday this year on April 23. However, the situation certainly isn’t something to be happy about. Stranded in Uttarakhand for more than a month now with the unit of the film he was filming there due to the lockdown, he tells us how his special day went.

Manoj Bajpayee celebrated his birthday during lockdown.

“The property we are staying at, the people here made sure that it goes off well in whatever way they could manage. They decorated with some of the balloons lying here. My nine-year-old daughter and wife made cards for me, those were the personal touches I loved. My director (of the film I was shooting for) wrote a beautiful poem, which completely touched me. I spend all day with my family and the unit people, with a lot of laughter. Then we had the cake and food we all cooked together. That’s how this birthday went, unique and fantastic. It’s going to be quite memorable,” tells us the 51-year-old.

Amid all this, the one thing which upset Bajpayee was the news about medical professionals like nurses and doctors being subjected to hate and violence by some people.

Calling it ‘unfathomable’, he strongly voices his disdain for such behaviour. “I don’t know who are these guys attacking doctors and nurses, who are our true heroes. The health sector are the frontline warriors, who are trying to make each and every person feel safe and healthy. The attackers should be ashamed of themselves, they can’t just go ahead and attack, let alone even think of it. I strongly condemn this act of violence against frontline workers. I cannot understand it, and the law should take it’s own course,” he tells us.

One might think that Bajpayee must be stressed about being away from home for so long, but he dispels all such things. He is actually glad about the fact that they are in the place they are for the lockdown, especially for the sake of his daughter Ava. He tells us why, “I was shooting when my family came to visit me, and now we are here, it was a decision which was taken collectively. We thought it would be better to stay here than to get into an urban congested area. Also, an apartment will not be safe for our daughter. It was wiser for us to stay back, because she would not have that much of restriction which she may have found in a Mumbai apartment,” adding that she is more happier there.

This however doesn’t mean that they are free to roam around, he quips. They can’t go on the main road, as they are not allowed by the authorities. “We can see the Himalayas from here. We make sure to not meet any outsider,” he signs off.