Manoj Bajpai Speaks To Subhash K Jha On The Success Of The Family Man Season 2

Season 2  comes to us after months of suspense … how has the response been so far?

Oh yes,  it  was delayed  by a few months. But eventually it  is  now with the people.The response is so massive and amazing  so superlative…it is unbelievable!  And  the response is  so remarkable  that  it is  there for everyone to  see. It’s  a kind of response that we as  a team are shell-shocked by. Can an OTT series really connect  so  well with the  audience? Within  just a day they had binge-watched  the  entire season 2 .And now they are asking for Season 3! Which is  so remarkable  and overwhelming for us. I  don’t think we’ve seen success like this before.At least I  haven’t.

There were some apprehensions after the trailer about the sensitivities of Tamilians. what do you have to say to those who had jumped the gun?

We knew that once  the  series starts  streaming no one  would have any problem . The apprehensions  were not true. We always knew it is  a human story  with  a lot empathy  for every character. I am glad to see  everyone has calmed  down  ,all the apprehensions  are  forgotten. And   the brilliance of Raj and DK’s vision is being appreciated.

The Family Man is by now one of the most successful O TT franchise did you expect this kind of success for it?

Everyone  who  is involved in  the making  of a  series   or a film hopes  for optimum success. Sometimes  you  succeed sometimes  you  don’t.  But every project is  a learning curve. We  never though  The  Family Man franchise would  be so  stupendous.And that  it would attain a true crossover status. But you know me, Subhash. Whether  it is failure or success, I don’t lose my head. I don’t carried away  by success. This  is  the way I’ve always been.I enjoy success. But I make a note of all things that I could do to better the next season.  But yes , today as you talk to me  it is time to  celebrate  and  to thank my directors Raj-DK and  Suparn Varma. I feel grateful to the magnificent actors and technicians.

You have an outstanding breakdown sequence with hour screen wife in Episode 6 . how far did you delve into your own family life to play  Srikant?

I definitely  use my own experiences. But to say  that Srikant’s interaction  with his  family  has a direct bearing on  my interaction with my own family  would be wrong. Maybe I used  ten percent of  own experience.Otherwise I  have  created my own back story for Srikant and  followed  that . I think  about all the  aspects  and then play the characters. There are traits  in Srikant that are not me  at all. When  I am on the set  everyone knows I  think only about my  character, trying to  create the  best version of my character. It is so much  hard work.At  the each day  you are  so exhausted  you  don’t know what to do with yourself.

 High expectations for Season 3 . What do you have to tell your drooling fans?

Audiences’  expectations are always there  . It was  there  for Season  1 also when so   much publicity was done.  We live with  it. Sometimes  we  fulfill them.Sometimes  we don’t. Expectations are something  we welcome  and we will try  to fulfill it to our best of abilities. But at  the moment let’s not talk about Season 3. Let’s  talk about the  love and respect everyone is   giving to Season2.

Your next?

Next  I  will be  seen  in one  story  of  an anthology of stories entitled Ray which will stream  on Netflix on June 25. It is  an anthology of stories written by  the great Satyajit Ray.  My story is   directed  by one of my favourite directors Abhishek Choubey with whom I did Sonechiraiya.I can’t wait to see  the audiences’ reaction  to this one.