As the film ‘Satya’ marks 25 years, Manoj Bajpayee reveals unknown details regarding his role.
Manoj Bajpayee's career took a turn when the legendary gangster epic Satya, 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. "For years, there has been a misunderstanding that I was slated to play the lead in Satya. That's not true, though. For a little part in Daud—Paresh Rawal's assistant—Ramu and I first crossed paths. I became aware that Ramu admired 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 throw me right away.”
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There was a catch, though. "Ramu wanted to put me in a movie but there was no screenplay available. All he had was a notion for a movie about the underworld. He desired to emulate Shekhar Kapoor's treatment of the bandits in Bandit Queen when dealing with the Mumbai underworld. The concept greatly piqued his interest.
The writing came next, and Manoj was a huge assistance to Ramu. "Ramu asked me to find writers for his film about the underworld. Anurag Kashyap and Saurav Shukla joined the team in this manner. He was becoming as Satya's most intriguing character”. Ramu decided to cast Chakravarthy, who has excellent screen presence, in the lead part.
Manoj affirms that he was never cast in the lead role. "I have no idea how this got here. There wasn't a Satya around when Ramu considered casting me. 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.