Manoj Bajpayee’s career took a turn when the legendary gangster epic Satya movie, which debuted on July 3rd, 25 years ago, was released. He gave Bhiku Mhatre a visceral, raw, wounded, and dynamic portrayal. According to a long-running rumour, Manoj was given consideration for J D Chakravarthy’s title role in Satya.
Manoj, though, makes things apparent. He says, “For years, there has been a misunderstanding that I was slated to play the lead in Satya. That’s not true, though. Ramu and I initially met when I was working as Paresh Rawal’s assistant on the film Daud. I became aware that Ramu liked the actor I was in Shekhar Kapoor’s Bandit Queen. He expressed his utter amazement at my portrayal of Maan Singh in Bandit Queen. He was eager to cast me right away.”
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There was a catch, though. He further adds, “Ramu wanted to cast me in a movie, but there wasn’t a script available. He only had a vague idea for a film about the underworld. When dealing with the Mumbai underworld, he wanted to imitate Shekhar Kapoor’s handling of the bandits in Bandit Queen.”
The writing came next, and Manoj was a huge assistance to Ramu. He stated, “Ramu asked me to find writers for his film about the underworld. Anurag Kashyap and Saurav Shukla joined the team in this manner. Ramu and the other co-writers realised they required a performer with experience in the theatre to play Bhiku Mhatre as the story began to take shape. He was developing as Satya’s most intriguing character. Chakravarthy, who has a tremendous screen presence, was chosen by Ramu to play the major role.”
Manoj states categorically that he was never given the starring part. He confesses, “I have no idea how this got here, he admits. When Ramu pondered casting me, Satya wasn’t present. Just the notion of a movie about the underworld.” Manoj smiles when asked about his major falling out with Ram Gopal Varma following Satya, “We were kids. I will always be grateful to him for giving me a career.”
So, this was all about the Satya movie completing 25 years. Click here to read the latest updates on the upcoming Bollywood movies.
