Manoj Bajpayee is a versatile actor chameleonizing through varied roles proving his acting prowess. With a career spanning over 30 year the actor actor has explored through, commercial films, art films and even advanced himself with the arrival of OTT. Having worked in cinema for so long Manoj admitted being a victim of stereotyping. The Family Man actor claims directors cast him only in poor roles, he is never portrayed as a rich guy.

Recently speaking to the Bombay Times, Manoj Bajpayee addressed being cast for middle-class and lower middle-class stories and not playing rich guy. He said, “The only film before Gulmohar (2023) where I played a rich guy was Zubeidaa (2001). That was Shyam Benegal’s conviction. He was the one who felt that real maharajas were not Greek gods. They looked normal. In Veer-Zaara (2004), I played a politician from Pakistan. I had two scenes in it, but Yashji (Chopra) was adamant that I do it. He cast me after watching Pinjar (2003).”

Manoj mentioned that, in contrast, other filmmakers were hesitant to portray him as a wealthy character. He continued, “These filmmakers had that vision which stems from seeing life up close. Bakiyonko mujhe rich dikhaane mein dikkat hoti hai (The others have trouble depicting me as rich). The roles that I portrayed were mostly set in middle-class and lower-middle-class stories. I am never considered for high society roles. No director could think of me as a rich guy, barring the two stalwarts that I mentioned. This stereotyping exists.”

On the work front, this year, Manoj Bajpayee featured in four films namely The Fable, Silence 2, and Bhaiya Ji and Killer Soup. He is now currently shooting for third season of Family Man. The Amazon Prime Video show The Family Man 3 is a highly anticipated web series.