Manoj: No one takes awards seriously

As they don’t do much to a serious actor like him, feels Manoj Bajpai...
Courtesy Raajneeti, your message inbox must be overflowing?
Every compliment counts and that way Raajneeti has been quite a pleasant experience.
But there’s no breaking away from the ‘serious cinema’ mould...
For me, serious roles mean doing something worthwhile. I look at them positively.I’m not an actor to whom commercial film offers come every now and then and I do not mind it either. I’ve got recognition because of serious films and if the audience likes to see me in that avatar, so be it. In fact, this mould suits me fine. I don’t know of any other way to look at cinema. I’m focussed on what I like doing and have immensely enjoyed a film like Satya.
Since it’s a season of sequels, would you be happy if a Satya 2 comes along?
No. Satya can happen only once. And neither can one expect me to repeat such a performance. If you give me the same kind of films, I’ll get bored. I like to experiment, I like to explore the unknown, I like to move on.
The buzz doing the rounds is that Prakash Jha has already signed you for his next, that also reportedly stars Katrina and Amitabh Bachchan...
After Raajneeti released, Prakash Jha called me up to ask, ‘will you work with me?’ I didn’t know anything about the film then and still said yes. So far, everything has happened on the phone, but I guess, I’m on.
It’s yet another negative character...
I don’t know the difference between positive and negative. In Raajneeti, everyone is a negative character. If a realistic mainstream film can show negativity in such positive light, I don’t think who plays what really matters.
In Raajneeti, modern-day Duryodhana Virendra Pratap Singh is forsaken by his own blood. He tries to convince his father to give him the reins of the party. Did you ever face a similar situation in life?
I’ve built my life independently. I wanted to take a plunge into films and did that. I was always very adamant. Yes, I kept my parents in the loop, but I left my decisions to none.
How difficult or easy is it to stand out in a multi-starrer?
You don’t need to stand out — that’s the key. All you need to do is play in your space, which suits me fine. I get to meet many actors, whom I generally don’t meet apart from social occasions. It’s almost always party time!
Do you regret that with your body of work, you are still referred to as an actor and not a star?
Stardom is a different ballgame altogether. You need a different kind of training for that. And frankly, I was never attracted to such fame. Stardom is all about charisma, luck, the kind of films one do. It’s not something I have done or aim at doing. It’s very early in life that I realised that I’m a man of limited commercial talent. So, I had to focus on real stuff and till date, keep doing so.
Did awards, or the lack of it, ever make a difference?
Awards are overnight ceremonies. A glittering evening over, people forget about them completely. And these days, awards too have become commercial. There are too many of them — there’s no consistency. And they do nothing to an actor like me. Let me give out a secret: these days, no one takes awards seriously.
You’ve shot for Bedabrata Pain’s Chittagong in Bengal. What was the experience like?
In Bengal, I got a chance to see those places which Kolkatans have never seen. Lataguri is just a case in point. We were there for a month and I gorged on rosogolla, which, I found, are so unlike those available in cans. I also enjoyed a lot of Nepali and Bengali cuisine. The cultural exposure too is something to remember.
So, it’s Surya Sen all the way for you now...
Meanwhile I’ll be seen playing a goldsmith in Das Tola. I’m also
committed to doing Anurag Kashyap’s next and, of course, there will be Prakash Jha’s forthcoming venture.
It must be all work and no play?
At the moment, it’s all play. I’m enjoying some quality family time as I know, after this, I’ll be gone for shooting and will not be back before long.
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