Manoj Bajpayee fell for wife Shabana Raza's 'saadgi' on seeing her with oily hair at party: 'No heroine has the guts...'

Manoj Bajpayee had once revealed that he fell in love with Shabana Raza's simplicity after they met at a Bollywood party. They got married in 2006 and share a daughter.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who has worked in over 70 films during his career spanning almost three decades, is celebrating his 53rdd birthday on Saturday. Manoj's wife Shabana Raza, also known as Neha Bajpayee, is also an actor. Manoj once revealed that it was love at first sight for him after he saw his future wife at a Bollywood party in 1998.

Manoj Bajpayee and Shabana Raza have been married since 2006.

Manoj Bajpayee was initially married to a woman from Delhi but had gotten divorced. He met Shabana right after she made her debut with Kareeb opposite Bobby Deol in 1998. They tied the knot in 2006 and are also parents to a daughter. In his biography Manoj Bajpayee- Kuch Paane Ki Zid, written by Piyush Pandey, Manoj revealed that it was Shabana's simplicity that stole his heart.

They met at a party hosted by filmmaker Hansal Mehta to celebrate the 100th episode of his TV serial. The book quotes Manoj, "Party mein pahocha to dekha ki ek ladki bina makeup ke, baalo mein tel aur aankhon par chashma lagaye baithi hai. Maine socha ki yaar Bollywood ki kisi heroine mein to itna saahas nahi ki baalo mein tel lagakar party mein aa jaaye, to bas is saadgi par dil aa gaya (When I reached the party, I saw a girl, who had no makeup, had oil in her hair, and was wearing spectacles. I though no heroine in Bollywood would have the courage to come to a party with oil in her hair, this simplicity caught my heart)."

The book also reveals that Shabana was in depression at the time, as Kareeb had flopped at the box office and she only had one film, Hogi Pyaar Ki Jeet in her pipeline. Like Manoj, she had also come to the party after initial resistance. They hung out together at the afterparty, and Shabana found a way to forget her worries for a while as she spent time with Manoj. She introduced the actor to her family soon after this, and they remained together for eight years before they tied the knot.

Manoj was last seen in the Zee5 film Dial 100 and the second season of Amazon Prime Video series The Family Man. He has recently started filming for Devashish Makhija's upcoming thriller drama Joram.