Manoj Bajpayee On His Performance in Netflix’s Ray

Manoj Bajpayee On His Triumphant Performance in Netflix’s Ray

We  had  scarcely stopped raving  over  your  performance in The Family Man when you (Manoj Bajpayee) delivered another  knockout performance  in Hungama  Hai Kyon Barpa. How do do it?

(Laughs) How  do I  do it?I just  prepare in collaboration  with  my director and try to  stay true  to his  vision. And I don’t take anything for granted and trying to evolve  all the time. All the craft that I learnt over the years in theatre and cinema, from  other actors and  reading…it all comes handy when  I am preparing  for arole

How  did  you(Manoj Bajpayee)perceive  your character  Musafir Ali?

It was  all there in the  script. All I had to do  was read the script as many times as  possible. The director Abhishek Choubey is  very mild mannered.  But he  knows exactly what he  wants. He made me  and Gajaraj Rao  rehearse  rigorously . We kept on exploring  different facts of my character as someone drunk on his  success. Then he meets   a character who throws him off completely.

Did  you enjoy lip-syncing Ghulam Ali’s Ghazals?

Oh absolutely. But I wanted to  project the songs  not  as Manoj Bajpayee but my character Musafir Ali. The way he  plays  the harmonium  and  connects  with the  live  audience ….  and the way he  moves his  lips…All that was  worked out in advance. There was a gentleman who came on the sets  to show me how to play the harmonium. So yeah,a lot of effort has gone into that  one-hour film. We normally don’t see the same  effort  going into  Hindi films.

The Ray anthology has been largely panned, except for your story. How careful were you in preserving the essence and spirit of Satyajit Ray?

Keeping the spirit of Mr Ray intact  was the  writer and  director’s job .They’ve done it beautifully.What  I liked about Abhishek Choubey is  that he’s so innovative. His imaginative power is superlative. Who else  would have thought of adapting Mr Ray’s milieu into this  world of magic realism? There is an element of theatre also in the  presentation. Abhishek’s experience in theatre  came in very handy.

Did you(Manoj Bajpayee)incorporate that element  of theatricality in  your  performance?

I also tried to bring  in  an element  of theatricality in my performance. Musafir Ali is acting  for the camera. But I made sure this  theatricality  didn’t jar. When  we were rehearsing and  performing in front of  the camera, we made sure the  mood that we had decided on(theatrical yet cinematic)  was  on display.  I  am  a  great fan of Abhihek Choubey. His imaginative  power  is  something else.

You were reunited with your Sonechiraiya director . What was it like working with Abhishek Choubey again?

Working  with Abhishek Choubey was  a dream. Sonechiraiya  is  an all-time classic,and one of my best performances. Who could  think he could make my cameo role so memorable?I hope to work  with him  as much as possible. I am very greedy when  it comes to working with a  director like  Abhishek. When he  casts  other  actors in my place I feel very  possessive about him. I  vibe  really well with him.

What was  it like working with Gajaraj Rao?

Gajraj and I  go back a  long long way. We worked  together in the same theatre group when we started. We’ve experienced  life very closely together. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses as actors. He  is  one  of my closest friends. It’s just that we  never worked together  before Hungama  Hai Kyon Barpa in cinema.

Was  the  experience what you(Manoj Bajpayee)thought  it would be?

We were excited to work together. I’ve seen  his work in theatre. He is  brilliant  as  a performer. We  had a gala time both on camera  and  spending time  off camera. He is  such  a great guy. I love him. And  he has such a  beautiful family. I feel he’s going to make  a wonderful director some day soon.

How did you two approach the bonding between the wrestler and  the ghazal singer?

The two characters are  completely  different. We  stayed true to each other’s character. We didn’t  pry  into each other’s  performances.  But we gave  suggestions to one  another whenever we thought we should.

What is  your next release?

It’s a film called Dial 100  produced  by Sony Pictures. It will be  coming on Zee5, I think . It is a story about one  night,It’s  directed by Renzil D’Silva. My co-stars are Neena Gupta  and Sakshi Tanwar.  It is an emotional thriller and  has shaped up  very well. I am very proud of this film  as well.

Ray Official Trailer

[tnm_video layout=”mnmd-post-media-wide”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0P_Sfju0-Q[/tnm_video]

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