What Manoj Bajpayee Said After His Third National Award Win

"The journey was on for five years and with this National Award, it has come to an end. Though God took his time, but in the end when you get your rightful return, you forget about everything, all the other not so happy memories," the actor, who is recovering from COVID-19, said

Manoj Bajpayee says the disappointment of being left out at the National Awards previously for the performances that he held "close to his heart" has finally faded away with his best actor win for Bhonsle. Manoj Bajpayee won the coveted honour in a tie with South actor Dhanush (Asuran) at the 67th National Film Awards, announced on Monday. "On many occasions, some of my really acclaimed performances - which I hold close to my heart and I am so proud of - were somewhere left out. The admirers who knew about the work protested against the choices of other performances over those performances of mine, but I've never said a thing," the actor told PTI in an interview. Directed by Devashish Makhija, Bhonsle features the 51-year-old actor as a retired Mumbai Police constable who tries to help migrants fight against local politicians. The Hindi film marks Bajpayee's third National Award win after best supporting actor honour for 1998 drama Satya and special jury National Award for Pinjar (2003). Over the years, several performances of Manoj Bajpayee, including gangster drama Gangs of Wasseypur (2011) and the 2016 drama Aligarh, failed to find any mention at the National Awards despite the industry and fans calling them his career best. Manoj Bajpayee, who hails from Belwa village in West Champaran, Bihar, now looks back at the misses and the big hit that he has scored with Bhonsle with a sense of gratification. "I always had the belief that one day there will be a time that God will give me a second look. He will turn back and recognise the efforts I've been making all of these years. He will gift me the honour for something I'll do," he added.