Manoj Bajpayee says his films didn’t pay much: ‘It was only after 7 or 8 years of Satya that I could buy my own house’

Manoj Bajpayee has said that initially, he did many films that did not pay him well, adding that even after the success of Satya and the popularity that came with it, he managed to buy a house in Mumbai only eight years later. (Also read: When Manoj Bajpayee said his pics were thrown in dustbin right in front of him)

Having made his Bollywood debut with the 1994 Shekhar Kapur film Bandit Queen, Manoj had his first taste of success with Ram Gopal Varma’s 1998 film Satya. The crime drama also set the tone for gangster films in Hindi film industry for many years that followed.

Manoj told Bollywood Hungama, “Films that I was doing, were not paying well. I was doing Satya, Shool, kaun, Zubeidaa, Aks or Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar or Pinjar or Road…These are not the films that make you a superstar. These were films that I wanted to be a part of. These were the films whose budget was not that great… whereby they could pay me a little respectful amount. I did them as I wanted to be a part of those films. Those were films up my alley, they could satisfy my hunger for acting.”

He added, “It was only after seven or eight years of Satya that I managed to buy my own house. With every film, I was only managing my life. One great thing that happened to me, which wasn’t there pre-Satya. There was a car. But I loved it, I loved that freedom and enjoyed it. I feel burdened when my security person is moving with me on the streets.”

Manoj Bajpayee was most recently seen in the Disney+ Hotstar original Gulmohar that showcased the different kinds of people, and bonds that exist within a family. It also featured Sharmila Tagore, Suraj Sharma and Simran. Directed by Rahul Chittella,

Manoj has an interesting lineup of projects scheduled for release soon. These include the courtroom drama Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai which is directed by Apoorv Singh Karki. Set for a world premiere at New York Indian Film Festival on May 13, the film is the story of a high court lawyer who fighting a case for the rape of a minor. Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is set for a digital release on ZEE5 on May 23.

The third season of his hit crime-thriller series The Family Man is also in the works. Manoj Bajpayee also has director Kanu Bahl’s Despatch in the pipeline.