Manoj Bajpayee rues Bollywood's fixation with box office: ‘People trash good work on the basis of first-day collection’

Manoj Bajpayee said that it is 'ridiculous' that the film industry cannot look beyond box office collections, and that good content and talent is seen as secondary.

Manoj Bajpayee rued that the film industry values box office collections over good content and performances. He called this ‘ridiculous’ and said that his fight with this mentality has been a frustrating one.

Manoj Bajpayee lamented the inability of the film industry to look beyond box office collection.

Earlier this month, Manoj won the National Award for Best Actor, for his performance in Bhonsle. This is the third National Award of his career.

Talking to RJ Siddharth Kannan, Manoj said no one is given any importance in the film industry, if their films have not performed well at the box office. “Agar aapko box office collection nahi milta hai, toh aapne duniya ki sabse achchi film banayi hai, log usko trash maante hai (If your film does not perform well at the box office, people consider it trash, even if it is the best film in the world). It has been very frustrating that we are working in an industry where quality and talent are just secondary. The first thing that everyone talks about after the film’s release is how much it has made in the first show. This is ridiculous,” he said.

“I have been working in this industry with all of these rejections and people trashing good work and performances on the basis of first-day collection. But I have come from the outside, humare paas option nahi hota hai ki aap chhod ke chale jaayein. Yahaan raho, lado aur kaam karte raho (we don't have the option to leave. We have to stay here, fight and continue working). The fight with the box office has been daunting and frustrating. Most of the time, one really felt that one lost it,” he added.

Recently, Manoj was seen in the Zee5 film Silence… Can You Hear It?, alongside Prachi Desai, Arjun Mathur and Sahil Vaid. He played a police officer heading the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a woman in the film, directed by Aban Bharucha Deohans.