Manoj Bajpayee saw his photographs ‘being thrown into the garbage’ when he had started out

Actor Manoj Bajpayee has said that in the initial days of his career, he saw people throwing his pictures in the bin after auditions.

Every big actor that one sees today has had a humble beginning in some way or the other. And in some cases, they could only attain the position they have through the challenging route. Manoj Bajpayee might be a force to reckon with owing to his acting prowess in films such as Shool (1999), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Aligarh (2015), but there was a time when things weren’t this good.

Manoj Bajpayee was recently seen in Amazon Prime Video’s The Family Man.

“You are talking to an actor who came in the time when there didn’t used to be any auditions and no casting directors,” he reveals. How was it then during his initial days, we asked him.

Manoj Bajpayee posing for a profile shoot exclusively for HT CITY in New Delhi, India.

“You would give your photographs to an assistant director, and be sure that they will be thrown into the garbage. I have definitely seen this. As soon as I turned my back, many times, not once or twice. I have also been chucked out of a film or a series as soon as I have given my first shot. After I gave the shot, half an hour later I was told to take off my costume and go. (Of course) they can’t dare to do it now,” laughs the 50-year old, who gathered acclaim for his web debut The Family Man last year.

Currently, he is set for the second season. We ask him whether he watched the series after it was released, and Manoj says he usually doesn’t revisit his work. “I don’t watch my films, maybe a clip here or there because of my daughter and wife since they watch. I watched all episodes with them, and it was quite an experience. My wife Neha loved it, she’s the biggest critic of mine. My daughter, who is eight years old, was quite excited, that it’s her papa’s series which she can go back to any time and watch. I have mostly done films for adults and not children. This one she could watch!,” he shares.

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