Ram Gopal Verma’s film 1998 film ‘Satya’ has achieved a cult status over the years, and the film proved to be a game-changer in Manoj Bajpayee’s career.
As the film completes 25 years today, the actor says he will always be “indebted” to both the film and RGV. “I didn’t have a career when I did Satya. I was just getting some small roles here and there, and surviving in the city. Satya has given me a career. My career came in full shape after this film,” the actor, who played a character called Bhiku Matre, said.
Revealing how he landed the role, Manoj told Hindustan Times, “I was taken to Ramu by Kannan Iyer. When Ramu came to know I played Maan Singh in Bandit Queen, he jumped and said that I loved you in that film and I always wanted to give you work in my films, but please don’t do Daud. But, I was insistent on doing the film Daud because it was giving me money and a role. Although it was a small role, I didn’t mind it, because beggars can’t be choosers,” adding, “If I look back, so many dialogues of Satya became so popular that they are famous even now. Topmost being, ‘Mumbai ka king kaun?’ I am not an actor who believed in dialogue-baazi, but I was just living in the character.”
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Going down memory lane, the 54-year-old actor recalled the time of the film’s show, and said, “We really didn’t know how it was all going to turn out. The enthusiasm was that we were going to make something we always wanted to, with so much freedom to perform. We were improvising everyday, because we were given that freedom by the writers and directors to create and deliberate together.”
Asked if Satya created an impact on the industry, the actor quipped, “There is an industry pre-Satya and an industry post Satya. You can actually see that difference very clearly. It has completely changed the way the industry looked at cinema and theatre actors. It’s remarkable in the manner that it has given confidence to the new talents in every department. This is the magic that Satya has created. A young mind sitting in Lucknow or Patna could dream of coming to Mumbai and telling his/her story.”
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He signed off by saying, “We all thought that we are part of a fantastic film, but we could not foresee the amount of love or the euphoria it is going to create at the box office.”
