Manoj Bajpayee has always taken the path less tread in Bollywood, and his latest role is that of a gay professor, in Aligarh.
The actor admits that portraying a character like this is a risky proposition in the industry. “I know a lot of actors from our industry would not do this role,” Manoj said. “The West has made great films on homosexuality but we fail to have great scripts. I knew Hansal (Mehta) would direct the film sensitively. So there was a risk factor, but I didn’t think twice as the script convinced me.”
While taking on the part was a brave move, shooting for it wasn’t easy. “The shoot was fantastic but the heavy, emotional scenes took a toll on the team. Hansal and I would down a glass of white wine every evening to cope with the emotional overdose,” Manoj shared.
Moving on from Aligarh, Manoj is known for his acting chops, but box office success of the Rs 100 crore kind continues to elude him. Does he mind? “This industry is the only one in the world that is so box office obsessed,” Manoj said. “We even ignore the ability of actors over the box office. We love to sustain mediocrity but I can only hope that this changes.”
