Manoj Bajpayee: ‘Dial 100 is more of an emotional film than a thriller’

Manoj Bajpayee in Rensil D’Silva’s 'Dial 100'.

Just a few weeks ago, Manoj Bajpayee was gathering praise for his turn as the shayari-spouting Musafir Ali in "Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa", one of four films in the Ray anthology on Netflix. Now, the actor is all set to make his presence felt in Rensil D’Silva’s Dial 100. The crime thriller, also starring Neena Gupta and Sakshi Tanwar, released on Zee5 on August 6. In a pre-release interview, the actor shared his thoughts on his filmography and why he would love to be a part of Malayalam cinema. Edited excerpts:

Prior to Dial 100, you have worked in thrillers such as 'Kaun' and 'Missing'. What do you find most interesting about this genre?

What I find interesting is that it doesn’t leave the audience even for a second. It keeps them engaged all the time and doesn’t give them any space where they can sit back and relax even for a while. The participation of the audience is 200 per cent when they are watching a good thriller, and that is why I love the genre so much. It is so sad that in our country we don’t make too many thrillers. We fail to do complete justice to them.

What makes 'Dial 100' a film that checked the boxes for you?

This film is different from other thrillers not just because of the edge-of-the-seat quality but the topic it touches. It makes it more of an emotional film than a thriller. It has the qualities of a thriller but when the film gets over, you come out of it full of emotions and feeling for the characters. That is the beauty of this film.

Also read: Review |'Dial 100': Manoj Bajpayee excels in his triple role film

You finished shooting for it in 18 days?

It was required for that kind of set-up. We could easily finish it in a few days. When we made Kaun, we finished it in 20 nights only because we were shooting at nights and when you are shooting at one place, you can finish a lot of scenes in 12-15 hours. That advantage was there in this film as well.

You are in the company of some talented co-actors in this film including Neena Gupta and Sakshi Tanwar – you even directed the latter in a play…

I was really young when I was invited to do a play for the dramatics society of her college. Sakshi was in the third year of college, and I gave her the lead role in that play. I found her very exciting as an actor. Somewhere I knew that if this girl takes up acting as a profession, she will go places and that’s what she did. I am so proud of her achievements.

Neenaji is a remarkable person and a remarkable actress. She is an inspiration for all. I am quite in awe of her - the manner in which she has led her life as an actor and as a person - she has so much to teach all the generations coming after her.

Read more: Neena Gupta: 'It is all about a good role. Whether it is in theatre, television, digital or films, I am game for it'

From a comedy like 'Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari' to the 'Ray' anthology and now a thriller, your films offer variety to the audience but what does this mean for you?

I believe actors are not supposed to favour any genre. Our job is to fulfil the requirements of different directors and do justice to their vision. That’s what improves us actors and in turn provides the audience with so much variety.

You are also not given a chance to relax when you are skipping genres. You are always on your toes and forced to improve yourself in order to meet the requirements of the directors. If I am doing Devashish Makhija’s Bhonsle, then his requirements are completely different from Hansal Mehta’s when I am doing Aligarh, and when I do Abhishek Sharma’s Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, his requirements are entirely different from the other two.

Manoj Bajpayee as Musafir Ali in 'Ray' (screen grab).

You have always been looked upon as a talented actor but what was the turning point where you felt that filmmakers are offering you work that you would like to do?

The initial eight-nine years went into really establishing myself as an actor who is not interested in doing the usual stuff. After that, once the industry gets used to the actor and his vision, then they start thinking about you in the manner in which you want them to think about you. The initial years are loads of struggle, heartache and lots of convincing others that you’re not interested in doing the roles they think you should do. It takes a lot of patience, waiting, struggle and conviction at the same time.

I think it was after I did Raajneeti that people started thinking of me differently. The film was a multi-star project, and my role was celebrated so much. Before that they thought I am done and buried. Suddenly I came back with Raajneeti. They were all woken up with that performance and the success of that film. Then films like Aarakshan and Gangs of Wasseypur followed and that changed everything for me.

Also read: Manoj Bajpayee: 'I am curious to see how far "The Family Man" goes, and to see if it succeeds in crossing over'

You have played some iconic characters, from Bhiku Mhatre in Satya to Sardar Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur and Srikant Tiwari in The Family Man. What kind of mental prep did you do for these vastly different roles?

You have to keep reinventing yourself keeping in mind the genre, the script, the story and the director. No two directors, films or stories are the same, so the mental set-up of the characters is going to be captured in a very different way. I keep changing my method according to the film and director I am working with.

Buzz is that you are working on a black comedy series to be directed by Abhishek Chaubey…

I can’t reveal too much but I am doing a project with him and we are prepping for it. We will begin shooting by the end of this month.

There was also talk that you are part of the Malayalam film 'Kurup'. Is that correct?

I don’t know why everyone is asking me because I have never been offered a Malayalam film. I would love to be part of anything interesting coming out of the Malayalam film industry because they are doing some path-breaking stuff. There is some really remarkable and new kind of storytelling coming from such talented directors there. I would love to work with Lijo Jose Pellissery, Dileesh Pothan, Mahesh Narayanan, and so many others. They are such remarkable minds. This is what I am looking for as an actor – to work with some really great minds.

You mentioned in a Clubhouse session that you are planning to make a Bhojpuri film. Can you elaborate?

We are trying to get the rights of something but there is some difficulty in acquiring them. Until we have the rights, I really can’t commit, but yes I would like to be a part of a Bhojpuri film.

Manoj Bajpayee as Srikant Tiwari in 'The Family Man 2' (screen grab).