EXCLUSIVE I Manoj Bajpayee reveals the first time he had a drink: ‘It happened in the barsati of Kamla Nagar, Delhi’
In a candid conversation with HTCity, Manoj Bajpayee recalled his first ever drink, a moment that took place during his college days; read
Manoj Bajpayee's connection to Delhi is one of decades past. The actor moved to Delhi at age 17 to pursue a college education at Satyawati but then later moved to Ramjas College, Delhi University. But Delhi’s significance in Bajpayee's life extends beyond academics and theatre; it was also the place where he had his very first drink. In an exclusive chat with HTCity, Manoj Bajpayee opened up about his first experience with alcohol and the journey that followed. The - delhi versatile actor, known for his remarkable roles in Bollywood, reminisced about his early days, sharing how he had his first drink in a barsati (terrace room) in Kamla Nagar. “My first drink, I still remember, that happened in the barsati of Kamla Nagar. I was in all these class groups and my roommates and classmates used to come to my room with their bottles of rum and beers, and I used to have salads,” he recalled.
Despite the social setting, Bajpayee was initially uninterested in drinking, but one day a friend urged him to have a sip. “One day one of my friends said, don’t be a boring guy, just have a sip of it. And that sip lasted for long! The next day, I kept on sleeping till 2pm. But after that, I found it quite amazing, and that one sip turned into one glass then 2 glasses, 3 glasses, and then my drinking, it actually continued for many years.”
Addressing assumptions about his drinking habits
Bajpayee’s drinking habits have often been discussed in the media. During a podcast appearance on Bharti TV’s YouTube channel, the actor revealed that some people mistakenly believed he was a “sharabi” (alcoholic). He recounted an amusing incident from the set of the 2023 film Joram, where a co-actor, working on her first film, approached him with a curious question.
“During the shoot of Joram, one girl came up to me, this was her first film. She said, ‘Sir, I am really enjoying working with you,’” Manoj recalled. As the conversation progressed, the girl remarked, “‘Sir, it is very well known about you that you take a shot before every take.’ I said, ‘What shot?’ She said, ‘People think it is a vodka shot.’” Shocked by the comment, Manoj responded, “What shot? I don’t even drink hard liquor.” The actor then pointed out that he often consumed something from a small bottle, which led people to believe he was drinking alcohol. The actor cleared up the misunderstanding, explaining that what people were seeing him drink was actually homoeopathic medicine.
“I said ‘are you crazy? This is homoeopathic medicine.’ People think I go on the set after having a vodka shot, yeh toh sharabi hai kebabi hai,” he laughed, adding that his homoeopathic medicine required him to take a few drops from the bottle throughout the day. Bajpayee’s candidness about his drinking habits highlights how easily misconceptions can arise, and how important it is to clarify such assumptions!
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