When Manoj Bajpayee revealed he would chat with Sushant Singh Rajput about industry politics, "maine usse kaha tha, keep thick skin warna yeh jaan maar denge tumhari..."

When Manoj Bajpayee revealed he would chat with Sushant Singh Rajput about industry politics, "maine usse kaha tha, keep thick skin warna yeh jaan maar denge tumhari..."

• Manoj Bajpayee advised Sushant Singh Rajput to develop thick skin in Bollywood
• Manoj described Sushant as intellectually curious and a voracious reader
• Manoj said Sushant's death affected him deeply, denied claims of instability.

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Manoj Bajpayee once opened up about the quiet, thoughtful conversations he shared with the late Sushant Singh Rajput, revealing how deeply the two actors spoke about survival, rejection, and the unspoken politics of the film industry. Recalling their time together on Sonchiriya, Manoj said he often warned Sushant about the emotional cost of working in Bollywood and urged him to develop a thick skin if he wanted to last.

Manoj Bajpayee, widely regarded as one of the most respected actors in Indian cinema, knows rejection intimately. Before finding his footing, he faced repeated setbacks, including multiple rejections from the National School of Drama. Even after earning critical acclaim for films like Satya and Bandit Queen, the struggle did not disappear. According to Manoj, resilience became his greatest survival tool, and that was the same lesson he tried to pass on to Sushant.

Speaking to Mid-Day, Manoj reflected on Sushant’s personality and strongly pushed back against the idea that the late actor was unstable. “Nobody knows what happened to him. All of us are only presuming and guessing things. I have worked with him, and I can say he wasn’t a mad guy,” he said. Manoj described Sushant as intellectually curious and deeply engaged with ideas beyond cinema. “He was fairly well-versed in too many things. He was a voracious reader. I found him reading all the time, both on the set and off the set.”

The actor added that Sushant’s interests extended into science and spirituality. “He had great knowledge about quantum physics. He used to talk to me about spiritualism and compare it with quantum physics. He was a fantastic mind,” Manoj recalled. He made it clear that he did not want to draw conclusions about Sushant’s death, saying, “I really don’t know what happened to him. Even the CBI is yet to come to a conclusion.”

Manoj admitted that Sushant could be moody, but said that was common on the Sonchiriya sets. “He was a moody guy, and so am I,” he said, adding that actors like Ashutosh Rana and Ranvir Shorey also had off days. He fondly remembered Sushant calling him before the pandemic and saying, “Manoj bhai, I really crave the mutton you cook, so next time when you make it, please invite me over.”

The news of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in June 2020 deeply affected Manoj. “His death news hit me so badly that I was sad for three months as if I have known him so personally and closely,” he shared.

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Reflecting on their discussions about industry politics, Manoj said, “As far as the industry is concerned, we used to have chats about the industry and its politics. I always told him to keep thick skin, nahi toh yeh jaan maar denge tumhari.” He explained that years of rejection had prepared him for the harsh realities of the industry, but many others struggled. “A lot of my friends didn’t have that thick skin. They couldn’t face rejections like I did.”

Sushant Singh Rajput rose to fame with Pavitra Rishta before making a successful transition to films with Kai Po Che, Shuddh Desi Romance, and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. He went on to star in films like Kedarnath, Sonchiriya, and Chhichhore. His final film, Dil Bechara, released posthumously in 2020, remains a poignant reminder of his talent and untapped potential.