Manoj Bajpayee is an actor par excellence and there is no denying that. In a recent interview, the Satya star spoke about the late actor Irrfan Khan and stated he was never jealous of him. Bajpayee explained that if he had to be jealous, he should've been jealous of Shah Rukh Khan, not Irrfan since he knew SRK from their Delhi days. The actor also mentioned that he did not know Irrfan well as they both were from different circles.
Speaking with the YouTube channel Unfiltered with Samdish, Manoj was quoted as saying, “Jealousy agar honi hai toh ussey hogi jisko main janta hu. Irrfan ko main nahi janta tha. We were in different circles.” On being asked if they're the Naseeruddin Shah-Om Puri of this generation, the Family Man actor opined that the two veteran actors used to constantly praise each other's work despite being rivals in the 1970-the 80s. ALSO READ: Manoj Bajpayee Recalls When He Had No Money, Food As He Talks About Dark Phase Of His Life; Says, ‘Pata Nahi Hota Tha Ki Khaana Kaha Se Aayega’
Manoj even admitted that he wanted to play the titular character that Irrfan played in Vishal Bhardwaj's film Maqbool. “Initially, Kay Kay Menon was supposed to play Maqbool. He'd even grown his hair for the part. But the film got stalled and when it was about to go on floors again, Kay Kay got busy. So I called Vishal around 21 times to cast me instead, but he was reluctant since I'd already played a gangster Bhiku Matre in Satya,” the actor revealed in the same interview.
Work-wise, Manoj Bajpayee received credibility after Anurag Kashyap's cult gangster film Gangs of Wasseypur. He is best known for his work in films like Satya, Sonchiriya, Pinjar, Special 26, Aligarh, the web show ‘The Family Man’, and others. The Padma Shri awardee was last seen in the recently-released courtroom-drama ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ where he played the role of a lawyer.