Manoj Bajpayee doesn’t think of himself as a star

Manoj Bajpayee doesn’t think of himself as a star. Citing the examples of Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, Manoj said that even though the audience respects his work, they’re the real stars. He referred to how a crowd gathers outside Amitabh Bachchan’s house on Sundays, just to get a glimpse of him. Recently, SRK, who returned to starring roles after over four years with ‘Pathaan’, has been greeting fans from the balcony of his home, Mannat. Salman also greets a sea of fans from the balcony of his residence in Galaxy Apartments, Bandra, on special occasions.

In an interview with a famed radio jockey, Manoj said, “Do you know what a star is? When passing by Amitabh Bachchan’s house, I see a traffic jam on the road. At the age of 80, a huge crowd comes to see him on Sunday. A lathi charge has to be done to control crowds outside Salman Khan’s house. He just comes to his balcony and waves. Shah Rukh Khan comes and stands on his balcony. So, those are stars.”

Manoj added that people respect his work, but there’s a difference when SRK or Salman appear on the screen.

“The audience respects actors like me. They tell us we did a good job and they like our films. But when Salman and Shah Rukh come on screen,” he screamed, as if to mimic the audience’s reaction.