A game-changing cinematic journey

Critically acclaimed films have been the bedrock of Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee’s 30-year career, but he said that there was a moment when he doubted his decisions to actively support independent cinema as there was no audience for his movies.

It was the arrival of OTT (over-the-top) platforms that changed the game for the National Award winner, who made his digital debut in 2019 with Amazon Prime Video’s hit web series ‘The Family Man’.

Citing the example of the underwhelming response to his 2017 psychological drama ‘Gali Guleiyan’, the Bollywood actor said that he was disappointed when the festival’s favourite film failed to lure audiences to theatres despite good promotions.

“Somewhere, in the process, a few years back, I started losing hope in independent cinema and my whole choice to go and support them because the audience was not showing interest in going to the cinema hall and watching them,” Bajpayee told the top news agency in an interview in Mumbai.

He added, “That was the time when somewhere, I started questioning my choice of supporting independent cinema. For me, it is very important that people watch it and if they are not watching it, I am not ready to make films for four to five people. Who will watch it? And at that time, OTT wasn’t there. So, somewhere it made me sad, not that I was heartbroken.”

The actor said that OTT happened for him, especially at the time when he wasn’t keen on exploring the medium. Things started looking up after the sensational success of Raj and DK’s spy thriller series ‘The Family Man’.

“I was thinking I am not going to be part of the clutter that is there on OTT if it is offered to me. I had refused so many series. Then, ‘The Family Man’ and working with Raj and DK happened,” he shared.

Manoj continued, “But to get that kind of success with the first season was unimaginable. Then the pandemic happened and the second season came and it crossed all the records. In a true sense, that is the crossover from India. All the independent films that were released after season one on OTT, of them, were received so well.”

His new love affair with streamers continues. The actor was most recently seen in the ‘Disney+ Hotstar’ film ‘Gulmohar’ with yesteryear star Sharmila Tagore. He will reprise his role as the intelligence agent Srikant Tiwari in the third season of ‘The Family Man’.

“Everywhere people are talking about ‘Gulmohar’ and how lovely they found it. Sharmila ji is so happy and very sweetly she said, ‘At the age of 79-80, it feels good that you are still loved’,” said Bajpayee.

He added, “I feel happy with it because I have been doing independent films and middle-of-the-road cinema with new directors by putting all my faith in it. Many times, in the past, things never worked out with the audience but in the end, you just say, ‘It is nothing but just the right time’.”

Manoj Bajpayee said that he witnessed a change after ‘The Family Man’, as most of his films were released on digital mediums such as ‘Mrs. Serial Killer’, ‘Silence... Can You Hear It?’, ‘Dial 100’ and ‘Gulmohar’.

“This has been happening since ‘The Family Man’ season one and so many of my films came and it got such a huge reception by the audience on OTT. It gives me an immense amount of satisfaction, an immense amount of belief or reassurance that whatever I was doing, I was just right,” he said.

Bajpayee said that OTT has reinstated his belief in independent cinema.

“But now because of OTT, the audience has shown one thing, ‘If you come to me, I will definitely watch it and I will tell you exactly how I found it’. So, people discuss the film and the performances.”

According to the actor, it is essential to demarcate films that are meant for theatrical experience and OTT in the post-pandemic era.

“If at all they (viewers) would go to a film that would be much more hyped up, it has to have a lot of entertainment factor in it. In India, it is a whole different game when it comes to moviegoing,” he said.

The actor added, “So, now when these films are available on OTT, they watch it in numbers and they show faith and love. And we as makers should decide very honestly which film, we are ready to send to theatres and which films should we show on OTT.”

Manoj Bajpayee’s latest project is ‘The Vial - India’s Vaccine Story’, a documentary revolving around the country’s COVID-19 vaccine journey, on which he serves as narrator. The film, which brings to life the inside story of what went into producing the COVID-19 vaccine vial, premiered on ‘History TV18’ on March 24.

The actor said that he wanted to celebrate the contribution of front-line workers during the pandemic through this documentary.

“It is very important to celebrate the people who are behind the scenes. We should make as many documentaries and as many films on them as possible,” he said.

Manoj added, “For example, for me, it is very important to know what your cameraman is doing, how he is standing for so many hours and how many light-men do so when they are shooting for a

film. They work in very unhealthy and risky conditions. The problem is we don’t recognise the effort of others.”

Spanning 60 minutes, ‘The Vial - India’s Vaccine Story’ unfolds the story behind India’s success in developing, manufacturing and delivering the COVID-19 vaccine in unprecedented timelines.