Manoj Bajpayee has given several memorable performances in his career, including Gangs of Wasseypur, The Family Man, Satya, and many more. But his acting in Aligarh is truly iconic, for which he received several accolades. In an exclusive interview with Subhash K Jha, Manoj talks about 10 years of Aligarh, the hurdles the team faced at the time of its release, critical reception, and more.
Manoj Bajpayee reveals if he had any hesitation about working in Aligarh as he played the role of disgraced homosexual professor. He shares, “Not for a second. I am an actor. I am supposed to play anything. Aligarh happened to me when I was actually looking for a script where I could just, you know, go beyond everything that I have done, go beyond everything that I have learned. And when it came to me, I clearly remember that Mukesh Chhabra called me and, told me about the storyline.”
He adds, “I don’t know, for some reason I was just attracted to that storyline itself. And after that, Hansal Mehta called up and then he came and spoke to me. I was on. Somewhere in the beginning itself, I saw Ramchandra Siris, the character.”
While further talking about the preparation for his role, Manoj reveals that the film’s assistant director used to come to his house to help him. He reveals, “The preparation that I have done, the process that I have adopted, never in my life I went that way to approach a character. And to my luck, it all felt so right. I still remember the assistant director coming to me, to my house every day, and helping me with the process. That process lasted for a month in total. And then we moved to Bareilly to shoot the film.”
When asked if he had any trouble playing a homosexual man as a heterosexual man, the actor answers, “No. I was, personally, I would say that I was in complete bliss when I was playing Ramchandra Siris. I somehow never felt that, you know, Siris is somebody I’m playing somewhere. I felt that, you know, Siris is guiding me while I was playing him. Each and every shot, each and every scene, each and every day, they were so, so fulfilling and so exhilarating for me.”
Manoj Bajpayee also received immense love and appreciation for his performance in Aligarh and gained critical acclaim as well. Expressing gratitude for receiving praise and acceptance, he says, “Never in my dreams did I think I would be welcomed so much by each and everyone, so much so that it has impacted the young minds, the court rulings on their act. The person I must thank for this is, first is Mukesh Chhabra for really recommending my name very, very aggressively to Hansal Mehta, who’s been my friend. And secondly, Hansal Mehta, for really eventually giving it to me and supporting me on the shoot.”
“And Apoorva Asrani for writing this gem of a film. And Ishani Banerjee who gave this story to Hansal Mehta. Satyaraj Nagpal, the cinematographer, the magic that he has created with light and shade on the screen, I still am still not over that magic,” he adds.
The actor reveals how Aligarh was initially dismissed by people and also its trailer was given an ‘A’ certificate. He shares, “I remember how it was dismissed as a non-viable subject when it was announced. Even before it could reach the audience, the trailer was given an ‘A’certificate. That meant it couldn’t be shown on television or satellite. It made us feel completely handicapped when we were promoting the film. We went through all kinds of obstacles making and promoting the film. Today it is known as a cult classic, and counted among my finest performances. And I would always look back at those memories of Aligarh as highly important to my career. Aligarh gave my career a new direction. Films like Aligarh, Gali Guliyan, and Bhonsle took my performing abilities to another level.”
He adds, “They showed me where to go ahead from that juncture in my career. Aligarh will always remain a very special film. It was lauded all over the world. It was even mentioned in the Supreme Court. Most of all, Aligarh got me a lot of respect. The character in Aligarh, Ramchandra Siras corrected me.”
While speaking about how Aligarh ‘corrected’ him, he says, “It improved me as a human being. I was not Manoj Bajpai when I was doing Aligarh. I was Ramachandra Siras. I felt his spirit guiding me. So yes, Aligarh will always be on top of my filmography, always. Purely because of the experience that I’ve had, the experience that I really cannot spell in words.”
Aligarh also starred Rajkummar Rao in the lead role. The movie is available to watch on Zee5, Prime Video and JioHotstar.
