Goli maar bheje mein… Bheja shor karta hain…
The brain is a bother indeed. It doesn’t let one forget the darkest of hours and the deepest of troughs in life. Train the gun at the brain. Let silence prevail. This simple solution blends so seamlessly with the most complex philosophy when it comes to one of the finest actors of this genre.
Paradox. That’s possibly what differentiates Manoj Bajpayee from most actors. The common man with a common voice and a common demeanour made a difference with an uncommon performance every time he stepped into the shoes of a character succinctly different from the last one that he portrayed on the screen.
But the Padma Shri awardee believes no one would really like to step into his shoes. “There’s just too much of frustration and misery out there,” his grin exudes the pain of the long downturns he suffered in his career. “So much down that I sometimes got used to it.”
But he never gave up. Every failure made him more and more resilient to turn around and begin the fight all over again. The long battle with fate, according to him, helped him understand life in a different way. “Name, fame, glory, wealth – nothing really matters when it is an issue of life and death – and what really counts is what you invest in relationships with your family and friends,” says Bajpayee.
He believes the nightmare unleashed by the Covid crisis reinforced his beliefs and refined his idea of life that he was brought up with. His no-frills lifestyle, his down-to-earth approach, and his feet firmly on the ground help him face the life’s challenges no matter how severe they are.
“It’s not me alone, the pandemic has been one of the biggest lessons for everyone of us. We wouldn’t have realised the difference between necessity and luxury with more clarity had it not been for the crisis. We wouldn’t have understood what is superfluous and how we have been extravagant at every step if it hadn’t taught us how little we need to live,” says the three-time national award-winning actor.
“We are far more careful now about how much we spend and how much do we invest. Leading a lavish lifestyle has always been a mark of status in the film fraternity but concern about financial future and the wellbeing of families rule their thoughts. This is a welcome change.” says Bajpayee.
Born to a farming family in a remote Bihar village, Bajpayee has scaled highs with his unconventional acting, but he never dissociated himself from his roots. The man of abstract values retained his lifestyle in the same middle-class upbringing and living he grew up with.
As Family Man 2 rolls out on Amazon Prime, here’s a complete man who saves his time and money for the biggest asset of his life – his family. “It’s all in the brain,” says Bajpayee. “If we stop splurging today, we can secure our tomorrow. And, that makes our best investment decision.”