Manoj Bajpayee recalls when actors other than the hero were treated like ‘second-class citizens’
India Today
Manoj Bajpayee talked about how the Covid-19 pandemic provided a level-playing field to talented people in the film industry. He also recalled the time when only heroes were respected.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a huge shift in filmmaking as it generated equal opportunities for talented artists in the Hindi film industry, actor Manoj Bajpayee said on Friday.
The National Award-winning actor, speaking at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), said the pandemic was a great equaliser.
“Anybody who was doing any role, other than the hero’s, was treated like a second-class citizen, on the set, by the audience, on the posters or at the award functions.
“That something never went down well with me, and also for that reason I never wanted to shift to Bombay. Because I realised that at the most they can give me a villain’s role but at the end it was all about heroes and celebrating heroes,” said Bajpayee.
According to the actor, things have changed drastically in the last one decade, and more so during the pandemic.
“Now we are working in a time when so many women oriented films are being made, time has changed very quickly in this last one decade So much so that the pandemic, which has been really bad for the entire world, has been great for the entertainment industry.
“It has really changed the whole dynamics of filmmaking, the main character or the secondary characters. It has really given a level-playing field to all the talent,” the actor said in a session titled “Pure Evil: The Bad Men of Bollywood”.
