An Actor Has To Be Like A Fly On The Wall: Manoj Bajpayee

IFFI 2024: Manoj Bajpayee on Thursday said an actor must be almost invisible like a “fly on the wall” so that they can draw inspiration to create authentic characters for films.

The actor, known for movies such as ‘Satya’, ‘Shool’, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, ‘Gali Guleiyan’, and popular web series ‘The Family Man’, said he has always strived to stay connected to the masses.

Even today, Bajpayee said, he likes being able to “buy vegetables at the market” than give out selfies.

“I feel selfies enter into my private space, nowadays even my wife is not that close to me. On a serious note, if I’m going to keep my car windows black, how am I going to be close to the people? How am I going to understand what they are going through? The more I will cut off from them, the more downward my journey will be. My kind of actor can’t stay away from the people,” the National Award-winner said during a masterclass at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here.

Bajpayee, 55, said he hasn’t chased stardom in his over 30 year-career.

“Stardom is about mystery and glamour. I was only chasing roles… I don’t want to be seen in public because I’m busy looking at people moving, standing near the bus stop or selling something.

“An actor has to be like a fly on the wall. He’s in the room but he’s still not be there. If you achieve that in real life then things become easy. You can see things which are unseen.” Citing 2017’s psychological drama ‘Gali Guleiyan’ as his most difficult role till date, the actor said he is happy when he’s able to do justice to characters that are poles apart from his real self.

“You can’t do it if you’re away from the people… I would like to travel in a metro or a local train and just see those people celebrating life even in that miserable condition. These stories, the people I’ I’m going to portray on the screen, if I’m not close to them, then that’s going to show in my performance.” Bajpayee’s next film ‘Despatch’ will be screened at IFFI on Thursday night.

‘Despatch’ is a crime drama which will see the actor play an investigative reporter. It is directed by Kanu Behl and produced by RSVP.

It is set to premiere on ZEE5 on December 13.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)