A biography for Manoj Bajpayeehasn’t been written yet.
“I am known by my performance, so neither do big films need me nor do I big films.”
“Acting is the most difficult job in the world.”
“People should start appreciating films where women are at the centre.”
“When an artiste says that, after two heavy films, let me do a light one, somewhere they want to balance it out for the audience, not for themselves.”
“Before moving to Delhi at the age of 17, I had only travelled to Patna or Varanasi outside Belwa.”
“I work for the director, and if audience are happy, I have gotten my award. After that, I have to move on.”
“Actors like me endeavour to look for great roles and portraying them to the best of our ability. At times, it's noticed; at times, it's not.”
“I am probably the best example of an actor who has built his career on flops.”
“My job is to take out the negativity from a positive guy and take out the positivity from a negative guy. I don't play positive or negative roles. This is what I find fascinating about acting.”
“My offbeat choices definitely don't get me too much money because they are made in a very restrained budget. We do it because we love cinema, because we are passionate about the content and new ways of storytelling.”
“I personally feel that no human is a hero or a villain. All of us have our grey sides, and that is why grey interests me: because it's more human, more life-like.”
“I'm an actor because I love acting, and my romance with this craft called acting is too intense. I'm in this business for a very selfish reason, and that is me, and nobody else. The audience loving it is by chance.”
“What I am used to is 'Gali Guleiyan,' and people talking about my performances, what new I have tried in terms of my craft or the skill of storytelling.”
“I've accepted loads of criticism and sacrificed so much money to do what I wanted to do - which, in a very small way, contributed to making things easy for my kind of actors.”
“For me, portraying a character is not about liking or disliking it; it's about meeting a challenge that's thrown at you.”
“Multiplexes are being very unkind to small films. They are giving a lot more space and value to the big budget films rather than distributing show timings fairly. But that fight will go on.”
“I am not a star. My face is not the kind that 50,000 people will faint just looking at it.”
“I am a family man. The only difference between me and others is that while they work in corporate offices, I am an actor. I, too, like to go back home after work. I don't mind stopping to pick up groceries.”
“I knew I am not star material. I cannot sing or dance, nor am I good for action. I can only perform for which strong, diverse roles are needed.”
“I feel proud when my old films are still talked about and 'Zubeidaa' is one of them. It has been directed by one of the great filmmakers of the country, Shyam Benegal.”