Manoj Bajpayee reveals wife Shabana feared The Family Man would ruin his career: ‘She thought I was doing a serial’

Manoj Bajpayee’s character of Srikant Tiwari in his debut web series, The Family Man, is one of his most loved characters. The show turned out to be a hit and was followed by an equally successful second season as well. Now the actor has revealed that during the making of the show, his wife Shabana Raza had thought it was just a ‘serial’ and was afraid that the show would ruin Manoj’s career. Also read: Manoj Bajpayee’s Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai moves to theatres after OTT: It proves that web is not a threat or competition

The Family Man was directed by Raj and DK and also starred Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani and Neeraj Madhav. Manoj played a married man with two kids, while also having a hidden identity of a senior officer in the Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell (TASC).

Manoj on starting work on The Family Man

Talking about the time when Manoj had started working on The Family Man, the actor told Indianexpress.com in an interview, “They (Raj and DK) sent me two episodes, and I loved it and started making notes. I think the character notes for Srikant Tiwari were the most I have made. I would remember something, rush back to my notebook and pen it. I had even decided to not work for eight months and was working out a lot. So now, that became an issue with my wife (Shabana).”

Shabana thought The Family Man was a serial

Revealing her perception about the project, he further added, “She thought I was doing some kind of a serial and ask me what is this OTT. I told her that it’s different and she was like, ‘What is the need of money? Why are you ruining your career? Sab accha khasa chal raha hai. Sab khatam kar doge (Everything is going well, why do you want to ruin it). I told her how shows like Narcos have become popular. ‘But eventually it’s a serial only na?’ she would tell me. I think she didn’t realise the strength and potential of OTT till she saw the first season of The Family Man.”

Samantha Ruth Prahu joined the original cast in the second season in which she played the lead antagonist. The show has been renewed for the third season and will go on the floors by the end of this year.

Manoj is back with Bandaa

Manoj is currently being applauded for his role in his new film, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai. He plays a lawyer who fights for a minor girl who files a rape case against a self-proclaimed Godman.