Manoj Bajpayee Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manoj Bajpayee

• Manoj Bajpayee is an Indian actor and producer who has received National Awards for the Hindi films ‘Satya’ (1999), ‘Pinjar’ (2004), and ‘Bhonsle’ (2021). He was revered with the Padma Shri Award in 2019.

• He used to participate in doha and poem competitions while he was studying in school.
  

  An old picture of Manoj Bajpayee

• His father wanted to become a doctor but due to financial constraints, he could not pursue his dreams. So, he wanted Manoj to become a doctor.

• His parents named him Manoj after the veteran Indian actor Manoj Kumar. ^[14]Live Mint However, in his teens, he felt that he needs to change his name as Manoj was a common name in Bihar at that time. He wanted to change his name to Samar, but when he came to know that he had to follow a legal procedure with a fee to change his name, he dropped the idea and decided that he would change his name after he started earning. However, he dropped the idea of changing his name after his brother’s advice. Manoj used Samar as his character’s name in the Hindi film ‘Shool’ (1999). ^[15]News 18 In an interview, Manoj shared that his surname was wrongly spelt in many films as Bajpai instead of Bajpayee. At the beginning of his acting career, his surname was written as Bajpai in film credits, however, later, he made sure that his name was spelt correctly. ^[16]The Times of India

• In his teens, he read interviews of the veteran Indian actors Naseeruddin Shah and Raj Babbar in which it was written that they had studied at the National School of Drama, Delhi. Manoj then decided that he would also study at the NSD. So, he decided to pursue his higher studies, he would go to Delhi.

• After completing his schooling, Manoj got admission to Satyawati College in Delhi, but he wanted to study at Ramjas College in Delhi. So, he waited for a year and on a drama quota, he got admission to Ramjas College.
  

  Manoj Bajpayee in his younger days

• While he was studying at Ramjas College, he participated in various stage plays and nukkad nataks. Thereafter, Manoj participated in theatre plays of the Hindu College Dramatics Society. Some of the theatre plays in which he has performed are William Shakespeare’s plays, Comedy of Errors, Ganashatru, and Ginni Pig. Meanwhile, he applied for the National School of Drama but was rejected. He then came to know about the theatre group Sambhav Theatre Group, Delhi and from there he pursued a one-year acting course for a fee of Rs 2500. At that time, his family’s financial condition was not good. His father used to send him Rs 200 for monthly expenses and with that money, he used to pay the rent of his room and other bills and saved only Rs 20 per month. To save the travelling expenses, he enrolled himself in MA in the Pali language at Ramjas College and with the college bus pass, he used to travel from his room to the theatre group.

• He even joined language classes to improve his Hindi and English language.

• After completing the acting course from Sambhav Theatre Group, he applied for the NSD, but he was again rejected. He was so disappointed after the rejection that he even thought of committing suicide. ^[17]The Indian Express

• Later, while he was performing in one of the theatre plays, he met the Indian actor Raghubir Yadav who suggested him to pursue his acting classes under the famous theatre artist Barry John. On his advise, Manoj joined the classes where Shah Rukh Khan was his batchmate.
  

  Manoj Bajpayee and Barry John

• Barry John was so impressed with Manoj’s acting skills that he hired Manoj as a theatre action group member for a salary of Rs 1200. Barry John even advised him to quit applying for the NSD, but it was Manoj’s dream to study at the NSD, so he applied for the third time, but he was rejected. However, on the fourth attempt, he was offered an acting teacher job at the NSD.

• In an interview, Manoj shared that Barry helped him throughout his struggling days and worked on his English language. He further said that he considers Barry his acting guru. ^[18]YouTube – Sansad TV

• While he was associated with Barry John, he was selected to perform in a theatre play in France. However, Manoj’s financial condition was not good, and he didn’t even have the money to buy a flight ticket to France. His friends then helped him in buying a plane ticket. ^[19]YouTube – Sansad TV

• Manoj got the inspiration to make his career in Bollywood after he watched the 1973 Bollywood film ‘Zanjeer.’

• Manoj, along with other Indian theatre artists like Gajraj Rao, N.K. Sharma, and Arvind Babbal, started a theatre group named ‘The Act One’ in Delhi.

• In 1992, he got an offer to act in the Hindi film ‘Bandit Queen.’ Initially, he was offered the role of the daku Vikram Mallah. However, the role was then given to Nirmal Pandey and Manoj was given a small role of Maan Singh. ^[20]Live Mint

• Manoj then appeared in the Hindi TV serials like ‘Imtihaan’ (1995), ‘Swabhimaan’ (1995), and ‘Badaltey Rishte’ (1996).
  

  A still of Manoj Bajpayee from the TV serial Badaltey Rishtey

• He came into the limelight with his role as Bhiku Mhatre in the Hindi film ‘Satya’ for which he received his first National Award.

• During the premiere of the Satya, he met the Indian actress Neha aka Shabana Raza. In an interview, Manoj talked about his first meeting with Neha, he said that she was sitting in a corner with oily hair and wearing spectacles which was not a common thing with the Bollywood actress. He liked her simplicity and connected with her instantly. They became good friends at the party and after a few months, they started dating each other. After dating for almost eight years, the couple got married in April 2006.

• Manoj has acted in many award-winning films like ‘Shool’ (1999), ‘Aks’ (2002), ‘LOC: Kargil’ (2003), ‘Raajneeti’ (2010), ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ (2012), and ‘Bhonsle’ (2018).
  

  Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)

• Manoj, along with Amitabh Bachchan, jumped from a height of 30 feet for a waterfall scene in the film ‘Aks’ (2001).

• A downfall in his career started in 2004 after his Hindi film ‘Inteqam: The Perfect Game’ was released. The film was a massive flop at the box office. He then delivered back-to-back flop films like ‘Bewafaa’ (2005), ‘Fareb’ (2005), ‘Dus Kahaniyaan’ (2007), ‘Money Hai Toh Honey Hai’ (2008), and ‘Jail’ (2009). However, his performance in the Hindi films like ‘Kaun’ (1999), ‘Zubeidaa’ (2001), ‘Special 26’ (2013), and ‘Sonchiriya’ (2019) received great appreciation.
  

  Special 26

• Some of his dialogues from Hindi films became very popular. Some of such dialogues are “Mumbai ka king kaun? … Bhiku Mhatre,” and “Karna hai, toh karna hai” from the film ‘Satya’ (1988), “Aap the zero, hai zero, aur aap humesha rahenge zero” from the film ‘Aarakshan’ (2011), “Hazrat hazrat hazrat” from ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ (2012), and “Badshah ki gali mein aake uska pata nahi poochte… ghulamo ke jhuke hue sarr khud ba khud raasta bata dete hai” from the film ‘Shootout At Wadala’ (2013).

• Manoj hosted the Zee TV quiz show ‘Kam Ya Zyaada’ in 2005.
  

  Kam Ya Zyaada TV show

• He has also acted in a few Telugu films such as ‘Happy’ (2006), ‘Puli’ (2010), and ‘Vedam’ (2010).

• He has lent his voice to the Hindi animated films ‘Ramayana: The Epic’ (2010; as Rama) and ‘Mahabharat’ (2013; as Yudhisthira).

• In 2014, he appeared in the Tamil film ‘Anjaan.’

• Manoj has acted in a few Hindi short films such as ‘Jai Hind’ (2015), ‘Taandav’ (2016), ‘Kriti’ (2016), and ‘Ouch’ (2016).
  

  Ouch short film poster

• In 2016, he received an offer to play a role in the Hindi film ‘Dangal,’ but he rejected the offer as he did not like the role offered to him. ^[21]Bollywood Life

• In the same year, he was rejected from the Hindi film ‘Chalk N Duster.’ He was offered the role of quiz master in the film, but the producer of the film Juhi Chawla found his looks unsuitable for the role and replaced Manoj with Rishi Kapoor in the film.

• He started his film production company named Manoj Bajpayee Productions Private Limited, Mumbai on 25 March 2014. Under his banner, he produced the 2018 Hindi films ‘Missing’ and ‘Bhonsle.’
  

  Bhonsle film poster

• In September 2020, he gave his voice and performed in a Bhojpuri rap song that rips into the romanticisation of big cities from the point of view of a male migrant worker. Directed by Anubhav Sinha with lyrics by Dr Sagar and music by Anurag Saikia, the song speaks of a male migrant worker’s longing for home and “chokha-baati” while he toils in the big city. Throughout the song, the refrain is “Bambai Main Ka Ba” (What is there in Bombay?).
  

  Bambai Main Ka Ba

• In 2021, he appeared in the Hindi web series ‘Ray’ for a segment titled ‘Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa.’
  

  Ray poster

• In the same year, he worked as a narrator in the Discovery Plus TV show ‘Secrets of Sinauli’ (2021).
  

  Secrets of Sinauli (2021)

• In 2022, he appeared in the Hindi song ‘Kudi Meri’ in which he also worked as a singer.
  

  Kudi Meri (2022)

• Manoj is trained in Chhau, a semi-classical dance form. ^[22]YouTube – Sansad TV

• The Indian actor Pankaj Tripathi considers Manoj his idol. During a talk show, Pankaj shared that while he was working at a hotel, Manoj was staying in the same hotel and forgot his slippers there. Pankaj was so inspired by Manoj that out of respect, he kept his slippers with him.

• In 2021, the Indian film critic Kamaal R Khan made a demeaning tweet against Manoj after which Manoj filed a police complaint against him for defamation. ^[23]Koimoi The tweet reads,
  

  Last night, I was talking with Sunil Pal & he told me the story of the #FamilyMan web series. Manoj Bajpayee’s wife is having a boyfriend. Manoj’s minor daughter is also having a boyfriend. #AaaThoo! Sharam Nahi Aati Iss Nasedi, Ganjedi Bajpayee Ko Aisi p*rn Parosne main. Laanat hai.” He also compared Manoj to Raj Kundra, who was arrested back then for his alleged involvement in the illegal creation of p*rn content.”

• In 2022, Manoj met the Indian politician Lalu Prasad Yadav hinting towards joining politics. Later, the Indian politician Tejashwi Yadav took to his Twitter account to share the news that Manoj would join Rashtriya Janata Dal. Yadav tweeted,
  

  बिहार की माटी के लाल,हिंदी सिनेमा के सुप्रसिद्ध एवं संजीदा अभिनेता पद्मश्री @BajpayeeManoj जी आवास पर मिलने पहुँचे और पिता श्री @laluprasadrjd जी के स्वास्थ्य लाभ की जानकारी प्राप्त की। इन्होंने मेहनत व काबिलियत के बदौलत फिल्म इंडस्ट्री में पहचान बना बिहार को गौरवान्वित किया है।”

• In 2022, a book titled ‘Manoj Bajpayee: Kuch Pane Ki Zid’ was published on the life of Manoj Bajpayee. In the book, the author Piyush Pandey shared an interesting incident from Manoj’s school life. He wrote,
  

  Whenever roll number 44 was called in the class, and the voice of the present head echoed in the class, an inexplicable smile floated on Manoj’s face, which is called ‘blush’ in English. The ‘distribution’ of the girl of their choice among the boys of the class was done according to the roll number without the knowledge of the girl. Because of this untold love, friends started calling Manoj Fortyfourwa.”

  

  Manoj Bajpayee- Kuch Pane Ki Zid

• In an interview, Manoj shared that he daily practised Yoga and meditation. He then listened to Sufi music, bhajans, and Buddhist chants.

• Manoj has a fear of dogs. ^[24]Rediff

• He has quit smoking cigarettes and consuming alcohol. ^[25]DNA India

• Manoj is a spiritual person, and he is a devotee of lord Shiva. ^[26]The Times of India

• He has been featured on various magazine covers such as Forbes, Man’s World, and Outlook.
  

  Manoj Bajpayee featured on the cover of Man’s World

• He has also appeared in TV commercials for various brands such as Pan Vilas Pan Masala, Bail Kolhu Mustard Oil, and Mahindra Maha Bolero Pik Up.