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World Theatre Day special: Manoj Bajpayee says, ‘Performing street plays was like an adventure’

Manoj Bajpayee credits his theatre background for his long and successful innings as an actor

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As a youngster who wanted to make a name for himself in the world of Hindi cinema, Manoj Bajpayee was sure of one thing. He knew that he could depend only on his craft to achieve his dream. Today, the Padma Shri award winner credits his decade-long theatre experience for holding him in good stead.

“I have always believed that theatre is a complete art form — a medium of extreme creativity and immense challenges,” says Manoj, who got involved with street theatre as a student of Ramjas College in Delhi University. “It is a place where the actor is everything. When he is performing, he only has his skills to rely upon to keep the audience engaged, so it demands a certain kind of physical and mental preparation. I feel, even if an actor doesn’t want to be on stage for his entire life, he should be a part of it for at least four-five years, to be prepared for bigger challenges,” he adds.

Ask him about his street theatre experience and he says, “We have performed everywhere from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to Bihar. It was such an adventurous time, acting every day in front of people. I have been a part of almost 450-500 street plays. If I start putting down those experiences, I will have material for three autobiographies!” Later, when he was rejected thrice by the National School of Drama, it was theatre director and teacher Barry John, who came into his life “like an angel”. “He decided to train me. I became his student as well as assistant,” adds Manoj. 

Manoj cherishes every word of appreciation that comes from his acting guru. “To me, it means more than any award,” he says.

Today, the critically-acclaimed actor, known for his award-winning roles in movies like Satya (1998), Pinjar (2003), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Aligarh (2016) among others, believes it’s this medium that prepared him for bigger challenges in life. “Most of the work I did on the stage can be bracketed in the experimental zone. These plays were written by the literary greats and we would have massive discussions about the characters and the motivations behind their actions. When you get used to that kind of preparation, you are ready to take the plunge into any kind of complicated mind that you get to portray in cinema,” he says.

The Sonchiriya actor still manages to take time out to watch plays. While actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher and Paresh Rawal have managed to straddle both, Bollywood and theatre, Manoj says personal and professional demands have kept him away from the stage. “I did try, but some film project would turn up and I was not able to do so. But someday...” he mulls, a wish and a promise both rolled into one.

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