First Paycheck REVEALED: Did You Know How Much Manoj Bajpayee Earned for 'Bandit Queen' Debut?

Manoj Bajpayee, recognized as one of India's critically acclaimed actors, is celebrated for his versatile performances across various film genres. Recently, during an interaction with the YouTube channel Bollywood Bubble, Manoj reminisced about his early days in Bollywood.

Manoj Bajapayee's First Paycheck REVEALED

He shared that his first film role came while he was involved in theatre, landing a part in "Bandit Queen." For this film, he earned between Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000. In "Droh Kaal," he played a minor role because all the significant roles were already cast by the time he approached the film’s director, Govind Nihalani. Determined to work with Nihalani, Manoj accepted the small role, for which he was paid Rs 2,000.

After his roles in these two films, Manoj secured the iconic role of gangster Bhiku Mhatre in the film "Satya." He recounted how the filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, impressed with his acting, had been searching for him to cast him in the role. Manoj shared an anecdote where Varma initially did not believe that Manoj had played the role of Man Singh in "Bandit Queen" due to his young appearance. Manoj explained that he had grown a beard for the character. Varma revealed that he had been trying to locate Manoj for years because he admired his performance and envisioned him for a film about the Mumbai mafia, which later became "Satya."

"Bandit Queen," directed by Shekhar Kapur and starring Seema Biswas, was instrumental in launching the careers of several actors, including Saurabh Shukla, Gajraj Rao, and Aditya Srivastava. The film won three National Film Awards in 1995, including Best Feature Film in Hindi, Best Actress for Seema Biswas, and Best Costume Design.

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On the professional front, Manoj Bajpayee will next appear in "Bhaiyya Ji," a rustic action drama directed by Apoorv Singh Karki, set to release on May 24. Additionally, he will be seen in "Despatch" and "The Fable." Manoj is also set to reprise his role as spy Shrikant Tiwari in the third season of Raj & DK's Prime Video India espionage drama, "The Family Man."

- PTC PUNJABI