Manoj Bajpayee is one of the finest actors in Bollywood known for his versatility and intense performances. Manoj has been in the Industry for more than three decades. He has faced numerous challenges in his career and credits those experiences have made him stronger and now shaped him into a master of method acting. He believes that having thick skin is important in the Bollywood industry to survive. In a recent interview, the ‘The Family Man’ actor recalled his memories with Sushant Singh Rajput. The two have acted together in Sonchiriya in 2019 directed by Abhishek Chaubey.
Manoj Bajpayee About late Sushant Singh Rajput’s Death
Talking to Mid-day, Manoj Bajpayee revealed the things he used to discuss with late actor Sushant and his advice to him. He said “As far as the industry is concerned, we used to have chats about the industry and its politics. I always told him to keep a thick skin nahi toh yeh jaan maar degi tumhari. I had thick skin because I had faced so many rejections. It was a part of my life but a lot of my friends didn’t have that thick skin. They couldn’t face rejections like I did.”
Do you know, Manoj’s cult classic film ‘Satya’ made by Ram Gopal Varma is re-releasing in theatres on 17 January 2025? Yes, the makers have decided to bring this landmark film of Indian Cinema to audience after 26 years of its release.
Manoj has always been vocal about criticizing the negative aspects of Bollywood. Throwing some light on the nature of Sushant and the experiences while shooting together, Manoj said “He was a moody guy, and so am I. The sets of ‘Sonchiriya’ had me, Ashutosh Rana, Ranvir Shorey and Sushant. We all had our off days. Just before the pandemic, when I went out to shoot, he had called me and said, ‘Manoj bhai, I really crave the mutton you cook so next time when you make it, please invite me over.”
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Manoj made a statement during this chat show stating that everyone are assuming things about Sushant’s mental state but he used to be intelligent and had broad knowledge on many matters. “Nobody knows what happened to him. All of us are only presuming and guessing things. I have worked with him, and I can say he wasn’t a mad guy. He was fairly well-versed in too many things. He was a voracious reader. I found him reading all the time, both on the set and off the set. He had great knowledge about quantum physics. He used to talk to me about spiritualism and compare it with quantum physics. He was a fantastic mind. I would not like to come to any conclusion because I really don’t know what happened to him. Even the CBI is yet to come to a conclusion”- the Silence actor said.
Furthermore, Manoj said that his death has felt like a personal loss and he was sad for three months. “I must tell you that his death news hit me so badly that I was sad for three months as if I had known his so personally and closely”- he concluded.
Sushant Singh was found dead in his suburban Bandra flat on June 14, 2020. Though it was officially declared as Suicide, there are many debates and controversies about his death that there were injury marks on his body and it didn’t appear as a case of suicide.
On the work front, Manoj Bajpayee was last seen in Despatch, directed by Kanu Behl. He joined hands with Sonchiriya director for a crime thriller ‘Killer Soup’ which also has Konkona Sen Sharma in an important role. He will be next seen in ‘The Family Man 3’ by Raj & Dk.