Manoj Bajpayee on Bollywood’s current unlucky box office streak: ‘We make too much out of a bad phase’

Actor Manoj Bajpayee believes that Bollywood’s current slump is just a ‘bad phase’ and the film industry will recover soon. In the past year, the film industry has suffered numerous losses and only a few films have emerged as successes. The mediocre performance of recent releases like Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan have led to much discussion on whether Bollywood needs to look inward and correct its course.
Speaking to Bollywood Bubble, Bajpayee said, “Sometimes, we make too much out of a bad phase. Cinema cannot die. Hindi cinema will not die. It will course-correct and come back to its normal self. The pre-pandemic phase won’t be there. Some new exciting phases of Hindi cinema will be there.” Asked if Bollywood is lacking anything, he answered, “No, we don’t lack anything. We have been entertaining for so many decades. Just course correction is needed. People are intelligent enough. Some new directions and fine actors are coming.”
Manoj Bajpayee also opened up about the darkest phase of his career, when he moved from Delhi to Mumbai. “After coming to Mumbai, I did not find work and was always looking for my next meal. It was quite a challenge and a hard period. I was not keeping well and had no money in my pocket. I consider those four or five years the darkest in my career. I can always make it a sob story, but I’ve always enjoyed each and every phase of my career.” He adds that it was all worth it and said that he doesn’t take his failures seriously.

Manoj Bajpayee witnessed a professional high in 2021 as he won a National Award, but also suffered a personal loss as his father passed away. The actor recalled how his father had always been his ‘biggest cheerleader’, and said that he had always believed in him ‘blindly’. “My father took great pride in each and every small thing that I’ve achieved in life. I felt completely devastated, but it was best that he was gone, because he was in too much pain.”
On the work front, Manoj has Despatch and Gulmohar in the pipeline.