Manoj Bajpayee on Breaking Misconceptions, Dark Humor and ‘Gajab Raat’: ‘People Think I’m Going to Get Angry at the Drop of a Hat’ (EXCLUSIVE)

From chasing work on Mumbai’s film sets to challenging perceptions about his personality, Manoj Bajpayee has spent a career defying expectations. In “Gajab Raat,” Neeraj Pandey’s black comedy, he embraces another unpredictable character named Nivrit. Bajpayee recalls arriving in Mumbai and visiting film sets, hoping to catch a director’s attention. “When I landed here in this city, every set used to look very gajab because I, as an actor, was looking for a job and there was not the system that we see today. Our job was to move out of our chawl and visit all these sets and look for the directors or the chief assistant directors to find some attention from them,” he recalls.

One of his most memorable experiences was visiting the set of Mukul Anand’s “Trimurti.” The filmmaker, he says, took time to discuss cinema and introduce him to the works of Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, demonstrating that mainstream filmmaking and a deep understanding of cinema could go hand in hand.

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On the debate around method acting and whether women have the same freedom as men to immerse themselves in a role, Bajpayee believes the process is not necessarily gender-specific, though family responsibilities can make a difference.

“I don’t think it has to do with gender that much. But in some cases, it can be true. If a woman is a mother, she has a responsibility to go back home after work. There were a few roles where I too immersed myself in method acting. But not so much that I am away from my family.”

Despite his intense screen presence, the actor says people often mistake his seriousness about his craft for anger. He recalls a co-star on “Joram” discovering that the liquid he drank between shots was homeopathic medicine, not vodka. “I would take my medicine in between shots and for some strange reason people on set assumed that the contents of my bottle were not medicine but vodka! Also for some reason, people think that I am somebody who’s going to get angry at the drop of my hat,” he says.

Reflecting on the assumptions people make about him, he adds, “The best thing is you just laugh it off and keep moving on.”

That sense of humor finds an outlet in “Gajab Raat,” where Bajpayee plays Nivrit, a character he describes as quirky and unpredictable. The actor believes filmmakers need not look far for inspiration when creating dark comedy. “You have to look around you for black humor. Trust me, that’s where black humor is. You don’t have to go to a theatre, watch a film, or read a book. Real life. It’s all around you. All the time.”

Bajpayee enjoyed playing the role so much that he would welcome the opportunity to return to the character in a spin-off franchise. “Honestly, I think Nivrit from ‘Gajab Raat’ would be fun to play. His mind is quirky and he is very unpredictable. So I just hope that people like it as much as I loved playing him.”

Even amid a demanding schedule, Bajpayee keeps seeking cinema beyond familiar boundaries. Malayalam films, he says, remain a particular favorite.

“I recently watched ‘Bethlehem Kudumba Unit’ and I really enjoyed it. Malayalam is something that’s my go-to. If I am confused about any other language, I search for a Malayalam film and invariably it’s fantastic.”

“Gajab Raat,” directed by Neeraj Pandey, streams on Netflix from October 23.