“I dislike the term Bollywood. It sounds like a cheap version of Hollywood. It’s not like we are copying their films and making them in our languages. We make our content. We have our own culture, mainstream films, and distinct features that set our films apart from Hollywood. It will be right to call it Indian cinema” said Manoj Bajpayee while addressing the media at the 29^th Kolkata International Film Festival.

The actor’s new film Joram has just been released and the film has been getting rave reviews.

Speaking about the film, the actor said “The film deserves to be watched for the way it has been made and the amazing story it narrates. We shot with a small baby and my main concern was to shoot the film without harming her. There were two or three people to take care of her. But it was my priority to keep her in a good state”.

Manoj Bajpayee highlighted that after getting rejected from NSD, he had suicidal thoughts for some time. However, he overcame those thoughts and pursued his goal.

Speaking about women empowerment, the actor said “My mother had always been an empowered one. She made the calls in many matters. I was even scared of her. Hence I have grown up watching an empowered woman myself”.

Manoj Bajpayee revealed that he watched mainly Malayalam, Bengali, Tamil, and Kannada and less of Hindi films. It was the content that attracted him to watch the films in the other regional languages.

When asked whether he would star in a Bengali film, the actor said “If I get a good script, I will love to work in Bengali films. Bengali I feel is an easy language when compared to Tamil. I can get a hang of it quite easily”.

Manoj Bajpayee when questioned about how he chose roles, the actor said “I choose the roles intelligently and diligently. I chose roles that I had not done before. If I continue doing the same roles, neither I will be motivated to perform well nor will the audience watch the work”.

The press conference was a lively one and the actor said that the new season of Family Man will start shooting in February 2024 and might be released in 2025.

Video Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1R5PIS9mAk

Priyanka Dutta