Manoj Bajpayee: Every character leaves some injuries on your subconscious

A still from Joram, which premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam.

Manoj Bajpayee is one of the busiest actors of his peer group. And this is even without the next season of his hit OTT series The Family Man going into production.

He’s recently returned from Rotterdam, where his film Joram was in competition at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. Directed by Devashish Makhija, Joram is a survival-thriller about a displaced indigenous man.

In an interview, Bajpayee spoke about the film and what he’s looking forward to:

What about ‘Joram’ do you think appealed to an international festival and audience?

I think it’s the world that the story is set in – which is of a tribal man, his forest habitat which is part of his blood stream, and him being displaced. In modern times, displacement has become such an important and prevalent talking point. So it’s a very relevant subject.

Also, the character is completely powerless when he is out of the jungle. This is exactly what happens to any person who is displaced, who has all the happiness, power and strength till he is in his environment, but becomes weak, powerless and clueless when he is displaced.

The film is also talking about man and his relationship with the jungle and man’s constant conflict with society. Besides it being Darsu’s story, and about his love for the place he comes from, he also has the responsibility of a child on his back.

When your film goes to foreign countries and festivals, different audiences see you and become aware of your work and of the talents associated. I am very lucky that my films travel and it’s a matter of pride to be in a competition category. The prestige of a festival selection will give a film like Joram a tool to increase awareness about the film.

What attracted you to the part?

There are a few elements of any character that you choose that you like. In the case of Darsu, I have seen this man and the world closely. I come from extremely north Bihar, near the Nepal border, so I felt like I have seen the world and the character and I wanted to explore him and go deeper. I wanted to be that person and feel everything he feels. It was intense and immersive but I had to go there to be with him, in his pain and his love for the place he comes from. I wanted to feel the strength he feels in the jungle, to feel the love he feels for the baby.

When you play intense characters like Darsu or Ramchandra Siras from ‘Aligarh’ or Khuddoos from ‘Gali Guleiyan’, how do you bring yourself out of the character and shake him off?

Earlier it used to be very difficult - whether in theatre or cinema. But if you are interested in evolving as an actor and learning craft all the time, over the years the craft becomes part of you and it teaches you how to come out of the character. Now I don’t need to make an effort. But the same person would have given a different answer after Shool, Pinjar or Road. Back then the character would go on with me even after release. That was torturous and started becoming dangerous. I was coming from hardcore theatre and my journey in theatre was much more intense. So it reached a point where I had to do something about it. The craft itself has really helped me to distance myself from the characters I have played, but all said and done, every character leaves some injuries on your subconscious.

Actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayub, director Devashish Makhija and Manoj Bajpayee in Rotterdam for the 2023 IFFR.

How are you managing your packed schedule?

This year I have around five films to complete, so my holidays will be sacrificed. I am looking forward to the line-up and I also have loads of things to read. It’s such that you finish one character and then preparation for the next one begins, so there is no time to sit down and think about what the previous character has done to you. The next one is taking care of the last one. And I am overcommitted at this point in time so there really is no time to think and analyse.

Besides Joram, there is Soup, Despatch, Gulmohar, Raam Reddy’s film, and Apoorv Karki’s Bandaa which are all immersive roles. You cannot imagine that you work with Raam, Kanu Behl, Devashish and Abhishek Chaubey and you come out unaffected. Unless you are working with someone like Milap Zaveri, who doesn’t want you to be immersive. He wants you to play your part without being aware of your character all the time. I enjoy that too and our film Satyamev Jayate was also enjoyed by the audience. As an actor, you can’t favour one kind of director. Your job is to enjoy the method you are applying and enjoy the working style of the director.

You cannot escape the question about the next season of ‘The Family Man’.

Everybody is asking me that and my answer is that the call has to come from Amazon. They have to give the makers Raj and DK the go ahead and then they will take dates from us. As far as I know, work on the script is underway.