Manoj Bajpayee is considered to be one of the most prolific actors in Indian cinema. Staying away from mainstream, run-of-the-mill roles, Manoj has carved a niche for himself through author backed roles in movies like Satya, Gangs Of Wasseypur, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and many others.
Earlier this year, Manoj Bajpayee talked about a week of turmoil he went through after the death of media mogul Gulshan Kumar, which led to the closure of the film ‘Satya’ in 1997. He claimed that the movie’s original producer got cold feet and withdrew, abandoning the project. A week later, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma hired a new producer because he was not going to give up. The film, which was set in the underworld of Mumbai, established Manoj’s career as a skilled actor.
During a conversation with Sushant Sinha on YouTube, Manoj talked candidly about his struggles to find work after moving to Mumbai. The actor revealed that he received payment of Rs 1.5 lakh for ‘Satya’, which he considered a good price given the significant opportunity. However, Gulshan Kumar’s life was about to improve when he was shot dead by members of the mafia. However, Gulshan Kumar was shot and killed by underworld figures just when his life was starting to turn around.
He shared that when he was signed for ‘Satya’, he didn’t tell anybody. He always used to be paranoid that the movie might get cancelled, which is what briefly happened. He further added, “Gulshan Kumar was murdered five days after we began shooting. The film was halted because the producer got scared. Gulshan Kumar’s murder was a huge incident in the industry, and we were making a movie about the Mumbai mafia. The producer got so scared, he shut it down. Our careers, which were just about to begin, were brought to an abrupt halt.”
Manoj revealed that he gave ‘Satya’ his everything and it was his only hope. The actor added, “After about a week, Ram Gopal Varma found Bharat Shah. And then filming began again. We gave Satya our all. That one week was very difficult for us all. None of us had any idea what to do. Satya was our only hope. That uncertainty was very depressing, very frustrating. I had decided that I would not lose hope until Ram Gopal Varma says that it’s over. But he never conceded defeat, he would only say that we’re pausing temporarily. After eight days, we got the good news.”
The assassination of Gulshan Kumar ultimately shaped Satya’s fundamental essence. In his memoirs ‘Guns & Thighs’, RGV described his thoughts upon learning of the murder. “If Gulshan Kumar woke up at 7 o’clock, then at what time would the killer have woken up? Did he tell his mom to wake him up because he had a shooting to carry out? Did he have his breakfast before committing the crime or after?… Then it suddenly struck me that you always hear about gangsters only when they either kill or die. But what do they do in between? That was the thought which eventually resulted in Satya.”
‘Satya’ is still regarded as one of the most influential movies in Hindi cinema history, having launched the careers of a number of its stars.