‘Family Man S3 to go on floors in February 2024’

It’s difficult to believe that the National School of Drama (NSD) rejected Manoj Bajpayee, an actor par excellence, three times. The lanky boy from Bihar felt really low and sank into depression because he hadn’t thought of a backup plan. Thankfully, his friends stood by him. Today, he is the visiting faculty member at the institute and is one of the most popular actors in the country. Having faced early setbacks, Bajpayee understands what young minds go through when they fail.

“When young people fail, it’s not that they feel like they’re not good enough. Most of the time, they’re worried about what their parents expect from them. The pressure comes from those expectations. So, it’s better for the mental health of kids if we don’t burden them with our expectations,” he said.

Bajpayee has always been known for his character-driven roles. It’s been 25 years since the release of Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Satya’ and yet, his portrayal of the maverick character Bhikhu Mhatre continues to resonate with and inspire generations.

Whether it’s Professor Ramchandra Siras in Hansal Mehta’s biographical drama ‘Aligarh’, the intense Sardar Khan in ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, resilient Advocate P C Solanki in ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ or Srikant Tiwari in ‘The Family Man’, Bajpayee effortlessly makes each character uniquely his own, compelling the audience to invest in the narrative.

After the success of two seasons, fans now eagerly await the third instalment of the web series ‘The Family Man’. “Family Man Season 3 will commence filming by the end of February 2024 and is expected to be ready for the audience by mid-2025,” he said during his recent visit to the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF).

Even though people love the characters he plays, Bajpayee honestly doesn’t worry about meeting audience expectations. Instead, he picks scripts wisely, thinking about whether he can rise to his own expectations.

“I choose very carefully and intelligently because I don’t want to do anything similar to the roles I have done before. Moreover, the roles need to excite me. Going to work every day requires motivation and encouragement and that can only come from the roles that we choose. I take on roles that challenge me,” he said.

One of the most challenging roles for Bajpayee was portraying Dasru in director Devashish Makhija’s fourth film, ‘Joram’. The film, an impactful socio-political piece, takes place in a mineral-rich village occupied by tribals in Jharkhand. Filming inside an open mine, where the temperature reached a scorching 55 degrees with direct sunlight, added an extra layer of difficulty. Working in these challenging conditions made the actor appreciate the resilience of those living such lives.

“It’s very challenging to work for long hours and complete a day’s work in this kind of film. An actor needs to be completely focused and be in his or her zone without thinking about winter, heat or dust,” he said.

Additionally, Bajpayee had the responsibility of caring for a three-month-old baby present on set. “It was the toughest thing for me to take care of the baby while I was performing. My responsibility was not just to perform but to look after the baby in every shot,” he said.

At a time when the thought-provoking socio-political film ‘Joram’ is in theaters, there’s also the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer ‘Animal’, which has stormed the box office, raking in over Rs 600 crore. Directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, ‘Animal’ has faced substantial criticism for its violence and perceived misogynistic portrayal of characters. According to Bajpayee, it’s entirely the audience’s choice to decide the type of films they want to watch.

“If we want this democracy to thrive, we can’t ask anyone not to make a certain kind of cinema. That particular director is looking at the story in that manner, let him express himself. We can’t ask for a protest or ban. But at the same time, the audience has the choice to watch films like ‘Joram’ where women have been celebrated. There has to be a place for everybody,” said the undisputed king of OTT.

The ‘Bhonsle’ actor also said that if cinema influenced our society, it would have been a ‘heaven’ because most of the films made in the country carry great messages and glorify women and family values. “But society hasn’t changed. So, cinema or the stories are derived from society and projected on big screens and not vice-versa,” he said.

Bajpayee doesn’t like the term ‘Bollywood’ because it makes it sound like Indian movies are just trying to copy Hollywood. “It seems that we are a bad copy of Hollywood. We are not. We are making our original films,” he said.

According to him, Indian films, including those made by Bengali maestros like Satyajit Ray,

Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak, have always been original. Bajpayee

also believes that even the popular mainstream Indian films are unique and not trying to imitate Hollywood. “Actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman

Khan are known for their own style and haven’t tried to copy Hollywood. We are known for our mainstream films outside India. Our working style and values don’t match Hollywood at all,” said the Padma Shri winner.

Bajpayee’s next is with Konkona Sensharma for Abhishek Chaubey’s ‘Killer Soup’, a crime-drama comedy set to release on ‘Netflix’ on January 11, 2024. Expressing his appreciation for regional films on OTT platforms, he thanked digital platforms for providing an opportunity to watch movies that might be missed otherwise.

According to Bajpayee, OTT has completely democratised the whole industry, all across. He noted how during the pandemic, people in North India started watching films from Tamil Nadu and Kerala and so many stars sprung up suddenly.

“So that itself is the testimony or the proof of how OTT has helped the entire film industry come into one. ‘RRR’, ‘Baahubali’ and ‘Pushpa’ are now popular not only in South India but also in North India. I must say South Indian actors like Allu Arjun, Jr NTR and Ram Charan are very popular in the villages or the small towns of North India because of satellites and dubbed films. 20 years back, we had stopped making films for those masses who were not getting to see their heroes. So, they switched to those dubbed films. A South Indian star becoming popular across the country is not a new phenomenon,” he said.

However, Bajpayee isn’t in favour of censoring content on OTT platforms.

“OTT will be dead if censorship comes. At the beginning of OTT in India, people went completely rogue with their making. They didn’t know what to do with that kind of freedom. So, almost every series at the beginning of OTT had abusive language, sex and violence. Now, the makers are more responsible in storytelling,” he said.