Manoj Bajpai Explains Why He Said He Was Jealous Of Actors Who Hero-Worship Him

While speaking to Pankaj Tripathi the super-talented actor  said to me, “  Manoj Bajpai is an  example to all of us  actors who  came after him   through the  offbeat neo-realistic route. He  proved  that  real talent will find its level.All of us like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Jaydeep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma are here because he showed us the  way.”

 It was  therefore surprising to read  in  a recent interview that  Manoj Bajpai  “envied”  actors  like  Nawazuddin, Pankaj,  Jaideep and Rajkummar Rao, and that he  was  jealous of them.

I reached out  to   Manoj Bajpai  for a  clarification and he said, “I didn’t mean I envied them for  their talent. Of course they are  all talented and it is  my good fortune that they all respect me  so  much. I think  they are  fantastic actors. But I am not jealous  of any actor in  the world. Because  I  am happy  with what I have, and I want to maximize my potential  before I get older.”

 It is the age-factor that   Manoj Bajpai  envies in his younger colleagues. “They have time on their side. Success  and  a kind of stardom has come early to them whereas I am now in my 50s. I’ve some years  to go. But I don’t  want to overstay my welcome.Before the audience gets  bored of me I want  to  do good work . These are  my best years.”

 Manoj says  he will quit before fatigue sets in. “Before  the  audience  gets tired of me and I get tired of  facing the camera  I want to retire,do the things I couldn’t because of  my  jampacked schedules, travel to places I haven’t seen  , spend time with my family, watch  the films that I’ve been lining up for years. Yes, there is  life beyond  cinema for me. But later.”