Manoj Bajpayee laughs off reports claiming his net worth is ₹170 crore: I’m still struggling to get some money in my account

Several recent reports claimed that actor Manoj Bajpayee’s net worth is close to ₹170 crore, crediting his recent success with web projects The Family Man and Gulmohar. Talking to us, the actor laughs off such claims, stating that he is still struggling to get some money into his account.

“Making that sort of money is impossible with the kind of work that I do, and be part of films such as Aligarh (2015) and Bhonsle (2018). I am still struggling to get some money into my kitty,” Bajpayee adds, “Now, after reading these reports, I just hope that the producers will now raise my salary.”

Sharing his first reaction on reading such reports, the 54-year-old confesses he had a good laugh. “And then I think to myself, ‘Kaash aish ho jaata’… At least, I could then just take off to some faraway place and be easy in life,” quips the actor.

Having said that, mention to the actor about times when one is gravitated towards projects which mean big bucks, and he says without hesitation that such thoughts never cross his mind.

“That’s because I can’t do it. If that had been in my mind, I would have done it 25 years ago, when I was far younger,” he reasons, and explains, “It is not me, and that is who I am and a part of my personality. I can’t work only for money, for me craft is very important. And in return I just hope I get love from the audience and my well-wishers to pray for me.”

Bajpayee has been proving his acting mettle for the past three decades now including both on the big screen as well as the digital space. In fact, his last OTT outing, Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai that fetched him rave reviews, became the first project to get a theatrical release on public demand.

Here, the actor confesses that over the years, he has learnt to detach himself from the idea of success, failure and rejection. “Now, I feel happy looking at the faces of my team. Like now, after the response which we have got for Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, I look at the face of my director and producer, and feel content with what we achieved as a team. I definitely celebrate milestones with my team, but after that, it will be a new day, new film and new challenge that we have to meet and really accomplish it. So, I feel for me, there is no time to really sit back and bask in the past glory,” concludes the actor, revealing that he will “hopefully” begin shooting for the third part of The Family Man in November this year.