Manoj Bajpayee has been frank about the dry stretch that preceded three of his most talked-about films. Before Raajneeti, Gangs of Wasseypur and Special 26, he said, the work he wanted was not reaching him, so he kept turning offers down.
The low before the turn
In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Bajpayee described the period without drama. “Before these films, I saw some lows,” he said. The roles he wanted were not coming his way, so refusing work became the default, and the films he did accept left him unhappy.
That matters because Bajpayee is now seen as one of Hindi cinema’s most selective actors. His recollection makes the later run feel less like a sudden break and more like the result of patience, taste and the right conversations.
The meetings that shifted things
Bajpayee traced the change to a few specific encounters. After watching Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday, he met the filmmaker and spoke with him about cinema at large. Around the same time, he also met Prakash Jha and stayed in touch with Anurag Kashyap.
The payoff did not come immediately. As Bajpayee tells it, the films began to happen for him roughly a year after those meetings.
What stands out in his account:
- Watch the work that stirs you — A Wednesday opened the door to Neeraj Pandey.
- Have the conversation — a broad talk about craft preceded any project.
- Stay in touch — the relationship with Kashyap was already alive when the right opportunity appeared.
- Play the long game — the films materialised a year later.
The rule he still follows
Bajpayee said he continues to speak with directors every day, including newer voices, because those conversations reveal interesting stories and help him find the work he actually wants. His focus, as he puts it, is building a filmography he can be proud of rather than chasing volume.
That logic is visible in his latest release. Gajab Raat premiered on Netflix on 23 October. Directed by Ritesh Shah and produced by Neeraj Pandey, the Hindi crime thriller unfolds over a single night in Delhi. Bajpayee plays a corrupt police officer whose encounter with an injured woman pulls him into a dangerous conspiracy involving powerful people. The cast also includes Divya Dutta, Akshay Oberoi, Saqib Saleem, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Shraddha Das and Kiku Sharda.
It is a fitting example of the career he describes: another project built on trusted relationships rather than convenience.
Source: Hindustan Times