Manoj Bajpayee is an Indian actor and producer who is the recipient of three National Awards for the Hindi films ‘Satya’ (1999), ‘Pinjar’ (2004), and ‘Bhonsle’ (2021). In 2019, for his contribution to the arts, he was honoured with Padma Shri.
Wiki/Biography
Manoj Bajpayee also spelt as Manoj Bajpai was born on Wednesday, 23 April 1969 (age 54 years; as of 2023) in Belwa Village in Narkatiaganj, West Champaran, Bihar. His zodiac sign is Taurus. He started his schooling at a hut school (not named at that time) in his village. He then attended St. Stanislaus Mission Middle School, Bettiah and Khrist Raja High School, Bettiah, Bihar. He did his class 11 and 12 at Maharani Janaki Kunwar College, Bettiah. While he was studying in school, he participated in various doha and poem competitions. Later, he got admission to Satyawati College, Delhi, but he wanted to study at Ramjas College, so he tried there for a year and on drama quota, he got admission to Ramjas College.
Manoj Bajpayee in his teens
He pursued BA in History Hons at Ramjas College, Delhi. There, he used to participate in various stage plays and nukkad nataks. He also performed in various theatre plays of the Hindu College Dramatics Society. A few theatre plays in which he performed are William Shakespeare’s plays, Comedy of Errors, Ganashatru, and Ginni Pig. After completing his graduation, he applied for the National School of Drama, Delhi, but he got rejected. Later, he came to know about the Sambhav Theatre Group, Delhi, and from there, he did a one-year acting training course for a fee of Rs 2500. At that time, his father used to send him Rs 200 monthly, and after paying the bills, he was left with only Rs 20. To save his travelling fare, he needed a college bus pass for Rs 12. So, he attended Ramjas College to pursue MA in the Pali language course. However, he left the degree in between. After completing his one-year acting training, he again applied for the NSD, but he was rejected. After getting rejected from the NSD for the second time, he met the Indian actor Raghubir Yadav who suggested Manoj to join Barry John Acting Studio in Delhi where the Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan and Manoj became batchmates.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father, Radhakant Bajpayee, was a farmer, who died in October 2021. His mother, Geeta Bajpayee, died on 8 December 2022.
Manoj Bajpayee with his parents
He is second among his five siblings. His elder sister’s name is Kamini Shukla. His younger sister, Poonam Dubey, is a fashion designer. One of his younger sisters’ names is Garima Bajpayee. His brother, Sujit Kumar Bajpayee Vinay, is a joint secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
Manoj Bajpayee’s sisters
Manoj Bajpayee’s brother Sujit Kumar Bajpayee
Wife & Children
In the early 1990s, while Manoj was in Delhi, he had an arrange marriage with a girl from Bihar. However, in 1995, the couple got divorced. Later, during the premiere of the Hindi film ‘Satya’ (1998), Manoj met the Indian actress Neha aka Shabana Raza for the first time. They were introduced to each other by one of their friends. In an interview, Manoj shared that when he reached the party he saw Neha wearing spectacles and oily hair which was not common with Bollywood actresses. Manoj said that he liked her simplicity and courage to attend a Bollywood party with that look. At the party, they became good friends. Later, they met each other several times and soon, fell in love with each other. In April 2006, after dating each other for almost eight years, the couple got married. In 2011, the couple had a daughter named Ava Rayla.
Manoj Bajpayee with his wife and daughter
Religion
Manoj follows Hinduism.
Caste
He belongs to a Devout Brahmin family.
Office Address
902 B Wing, Oberoi Sky Heights Co-Op Hsg Socy Ltd. Lokhandwala Complex, Nr Joggers Park, Andheri (W) Mumbai
Signature
Manoj Bajpayee’s signature
Career
Theatre Artist
He started his career as a theatre action group member with the Indian theatre director Barry John for a salary of Rs 1200. In 1990, Manoj, along with other theatre artists like Gajraj Rao, N.K. Sharma, and Arvind Babbal, started a theatre group in Delhi named ‘The Act One’ and performed in various theatre plays with the group.
Actor
Film
Hindi
In 1994, Manoj made his Bollywood debut with the film ‘Bandit Queen’ in which he played the role of dacoit Maan Singh.
A still of Manoj Bajpayee as dacoit Maan Singh in the Hindi film Bandit Queen (1994)
In 1998, he gained immense popularity with his role Bhiku Mhatre in the Hindi film ‘Satya.’
Satya (1998)
He then appeared in many popular Hindi films like ‘Shool’ (1999), ‘Aks’ (2002), ‘LOC: Kargil’ (2003), ‘Raajneeti’ (2010), ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ (2012), and ‘Bhonsle’ (2018).
Aks film poster
A downfall in his career started in 2004 after the release of the Hindi film ‘Inteqam: The Perfect Game.’ Some of his other Hindi films which failed to do well at the box office are ‘Bewafaa’ (2005), ‘Fareb’ (2005), ‘Dus Kahaniyaan’ (2007), ‘Money Hai Toh Honey Hai’ (2008), and ‘Jail’ (2009).
Fareb film poster
Manoj received great appreciation for his performance in the Hindi films like ‘Kaun’ (1999), ‘Zubeidaa’ (2001), ‘Special 26’ (2013), and ‘Sonchiriya’ (2019).
Special 26 (2013)
Telugu
In 1999, Manoj made his Telugu film debut with ‘Prema Katha’ in which he played the role of Sankaram.
Prema Katha (1999)
He has acted in a few other Telugu films like ‘Happy’ (2006), ‘Puli’ (2010), and ‘Vedam’ (2010).
Tamil
In 2013, he made his Tamil film debut with the film ‘Samar’ as Rajesh Arunachalam.
Samar (2013)
He has also acted in the Tamil film ‘Anjaan’ (2014).
Short Film
Manoj Bajpayee has appeared in a few Hindi short films like ‘Jai Hind’ (2015), ‘Taandav’ (2016), ‘Kriti’ (2016), and ‘Ouch’ (2016).
Jai Hind short film poster
Television
In 1993, Manoj made his TV debut with Doordarshan’s serial ‘Shikast’ in which he played the role of a dumb who was one of the associates of the goon.
A still of Manoj Bajpayee from the TV serial Shikast
He has acted in a few Hindi TV serials like ‘Imtihaan’ (1995), ‘Swabhimaan’ (1995), and ‘Badaltey Rishte’ (1996).
A still of Manoj Bajpayee from the TV serial Swabhimaan
Web Series
Manoj made his web series debut with the Amazon Prime Video series ‘The Family Man’ (2019) in which he played the role of Srikant Tiwari. His performance in the series was appreciated by the critics and the audience. He has also appeared in the second season of the series.
The Family Man
In 2021, he appeared in the segment ‘Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa’ in the Hindi web series ‘Ray,’ which streamed on Netflix.
Hindi web series ‘Ray’ poster
Other Work
In 2005, he worked as a host in the Hindi TV quiz show ‘Kam Ya Zyaada,’ which aired on Zee TV.
Kam Ya Zyaada TV show
Manoj lent his voice to the Hindi animated films ‘Ramayana: The Epic’ (2010; as Rama) and ‘Mahabharat’ (2013; as Yudhisthira). On 25 March 2014, he started a film production company Manoj Bajpayee Productions Private Limited, Mumbai. In 2018, Manoj worked as a producer in the Hindi films ‘Missing’ and ‘Bhonsle.’ Manoj Bajpayee has worked as a singer in a few music videos like ‘Bambai Main Ka Ba’ (2020; Bhojpuri) and ‘Kudi Meri’ (2022; Hindi).
Kudi Meri (2022)
He has also worked as a narrator in the Discovery Plus TV show ‘Secrets of Sinauli’ (2021).
Secrets of Sinauli (2021)
Awards
National Film Awards
- 1999: Best Supporting Actor for the Hindi film Satya
- 2004: Special Jury Award for the Hindi film Pinjar
- 2021: Best Actor for the Hindi film Bhonsle
Manoj Bajpayee receiving the National Award 2021
Filmfare Awards
- 1999: Best Actor (Critics) for the Hindi film Satya
- 2000: Best Actor (Critics) for the Hindi film Shool
- 2017: Best Actor (Critics) for the Hindi film Aligarh
- 2021: Best Actor in A Short Film for Taandav
Manoj Bajpayee with his Filmfare Award
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
- 2016: Best Performance By An Actor for the Hindi film Aligarh
- 2019: Best Performance By An Actor for the Hindi film Bhonsle
Manoj Bajpayee with his Asia Pacific Screen Award
Filmfare OTT Awards
- 2020: Best Actor In A Drama Series (Critics) for the web series The Family Man 1
Manoj Bajpayee holding his Filmfare OTT Award
- 2021: Best Actor In A Drama Series (Critics) for the web series The Family Man 2
- 2023: Best Actor (Male) in Web Originals for the film ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’
26 November 2023: Manoj Bajpayee with the Best Actor award, which he won at the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards
Screen Awards
- 1999: Best Supporting Actor for the Hindi film Satya
- 2002: Best Actor in a Negative Role for the Hindi film Aks
Zee Cine Awards
- 1999: Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male for the Hindi film Satya
Manoj Bajpayee with his Zee Cine Award 1999
- 2002: Best Performance in a Negative Role for the Hindi film Aks
Festival Awards
- 2016: Best Actor Award by Jagran Film Festival Aligarh
- 2018: Best Actor Award by New York Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival for Gali Guleiyan
- 2021: Best Actor in a Web Series by the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for the web series The Family Man
Other Awards
- 2013: Best Actor Award by Stardust Awards fro the Hindi film Gangs of Wasseypur
- 2016: Bihar Film Ratna Award
Manoj Bajpayee receiving Bihar Film Ratna Award
- 2019: Padma Shri for his contribution to the arts
- 2021: FOI Online Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the Hindi film Bhonsle
Car Collection
- BMW 5-Series (Rs 55 lakh)
- Mercedes GLE Coupe (Rs 1.27 crore)
- Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza (Rs 12 lakh)
Manoj Bajpayee sitting in his Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza car
- Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (Rs 1 crore)
- Mercedes-Benz GLS 400d 4MATIC (Rs 1.27 crore)
- Toyota Fortuner (Rs 35 lakh)
- Mahindra Scorpio (Rs 15 lakh)
Assets & Properties
He owns an apartment worth Rs 4 crore in Andheri, Mumbai.
Net Worth
As of 2022, his net worth is around Rs 118 crore.
Income/Fees
As of 2022, he charges around Rs 5-6 crore per film.
Favourites
- Film Director(s): Shekhar Kapur, Ram Gopal Varma
- Food: Biryani, Penne Pasta
Facts/Trivia
- Manoj Bajpayee’s parents named him after the veteran Indian actor Manoj Kumar. In his teens, he wanted to change his name. In an interview, while talking about it, he said that Manoj was a common name in Bihar so he wanted to change his name to Samar. While he was in college, he thought of changing his name but when he came to know that for changing name an affidavit and advertisement in the newspaper were required, he quit the plan. Also, at that time he did not have money for the whole legal process. He then decided that after earning money, he would change his name. Later, on his brother’s advice, he did not change his name. However, he used the name Samar as his character’s name in the Hindi film ‘Shool’ (1999).
- In an interview, Manoj shared that in the initial years of his career, his surname was spelt as Bajpai instead of Bajpayee. Initially, he did not bother much about it. Later, Manoj made sure that in the film credit, his full name was spelt correctly.
Manoj Bajpayee in his younger days
- His father wanted him to become a doctor as it was his father’s dream to become a doctor but due to a lack of finances, his father could not become a doctor.
- After watching the 1973 Hindi film ‘Zanjeer,’ Manoj decided to make his career in acting.
- In 1992, initially, he was selected to play the role of daku Vikram Mallah in the Hindi film ‘Bandit Queen.’ However, the role was then given to Nirmal Pandey and Manoj settled with a small role of Maan Singh in the film.
- While he was in college, he was not good at speaking English and Hindi. During his graduation, he used to work on his languages to get fluency in them.
- In his teens, he got to know about the acting school the National School of Drama, New Delhi through the interviews of the Indian actors Naseeruddin Shah and Raj Babbar. Since then he wanted to join the NSD. He applied for the NSD thrice, but he was rejected. However, in his fourth attempt at the NSD, he was selected as a teacher at NSD. In an interview, he shared that after getting rejected thrice from the NSD, he once thought of committing suicide.
- The theatre director Barry John once asked him to quit applying for the NSD as Manoj was rejected from there thrice. Barry ensured Manoj that he would continue his training in acting. Barry worked on Manoj’s English language. In an interview, Manoj shared that Barry helped him a lot during his struggling days. He further said that Barry was his acting guru.
Manoj Bajpayee with Barry John
- He was once selected to perform in a theatre play in France. At that time, he did not have money to even buy a flight ticket to France. He then borrowed money from his friends and with that money he booked the ticket.
- He is trained in semi-classical dance form Chhau.
- His dialogues from various Hindi films got very popular. Some of his famous dialogues are “Mumbai ka king kaun? … Bhiku Mhatre,” and “Karna hai, toh karna hai” from the film ‘Satya’ (1988), “Aap the zero, hai zero, aur aap humesha rahenge zero” from the film ‘Aarakshan’ (2011), “Hazrat hazrat hazrat” from ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ (2012), and “Badshah ki gali mein aake uska pata nahi poochte… ghulamo ke jhuke hue sarr khud ba khud raasta bata dete hai” from the film ‘Shootout At Wadala’ (2013).
- The Indian actor Pankaj Tripathi considers Manoj his idol. While the two were invited to a talk show together, teary-eyed Pankaj shared that once while Manoj was staying in a hotel, Manoj forgot his slippers in the hotel and Pankaj who was working as the staff there kept his slippers with him out of respect.
- Manoj was offered a role in the Hindi film ‘Dangal’ (2016), however, he did not like the role and rejected the offer.
- In the 2016 film, ‘Chalk N Duster,’ Manoj was offered the role of a quiz master in the film. However, the producer of the film Juhi Chawla rejected him as she thought that his looks were not good enough for the role. The role was then played by the Indian actor Rishi Kapoor.
- In 2021, Manoj filed a complaint against the Indian film critic Kamaal R Khan for posting a derogatory tweet against him, which reads,
Last night, I was talking with Sunil Pal & he told me the story of the #FamilyMan web series. Manoj Bajpayee’s wife is having a boyfriend. Manoj’s minor daughter is also having a boyfriend. #AaaThoo! Sharam Nahi Aati Iss Nasedi, Ganjedi Bajpayee Ko Aisi p*rn Parosne main. Laanat hai.” He also compared Manoj to Raj Kundra, who was arrested back then for his alleged involvement in the illegal creation of p*rn content.”
- In 2022, the Indian politician Tejashwi Yadav took to his Twitter account to share the news that Manoj Bajpayee would join Rashtriya Janata Dal. Yadav tweeted,
बिहार की माटी के लाल,हिंदी सिनेमा के सुप्रसिद्ध एवं संजीदा अभिनेता पद्मश्री @BajpayeeManoj जी आवास पर मिलने पहुँचे और पिता श्री @laluprasadrjd जी के स्वास्थ्य लाभ की जानकारी प्राप्त की। इन्होंने मेहनत व काबिलियत के बदौलत फिल्म इंडस्ट्री में पहचान बना बिहार को गौरवान्वित किया है।”
- In an interview, Manoj shared his daily morning routine, he said that he started his morning with meditation and yoga. He then listened to Sufi music, bhajans, and Buddhist chants.
- In 2022, the Indian author Piyush Pandey authored a book titled ‘Manoj Bajpayee: Kuch Pane Ki Zid,’ which is based on the life struggles of Manoj Bajpayee. In the book, Piyush shared a story from Manoj’s school life. He wrote that while Manoj was in school, he fell in love with the roll no. 44. Piyush wrote,
Whenever roll number 44 was called in the class, and the voice of the present head echoed in the class, an inexplicable smile floated on Manoj’s face, which is called ‘blush’ in English. The ‘distribution’ of the girl of their choice among the boys of the class was done according to the roll number without the knowledge of the girl. Because of this untold love, friends started calling Manoj Fortyfourwa.”
Manoj Bajpayee- Kuch Pane Ki Zid
- Manoj Bajpayee has a phobia of dogs.
- He has quit consuming alcohol and smoking cigarettes.
- He is an ardent devotee of lord Shiva.
- Manoj follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- He has been featured on the cover of various magazines like Forbes, Man’s World, and Outlook.
Manoj Bajpayee featured on the cover of Man’s World magazine
- Manoj has also appeared in a few TV commercials such as Pan Vilas Pan Masala, Bail Kolhu Mustard Oil, and Mahindra Maha Bolero Pik Up.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education