Actor Manoj Bajpayee is currently enjoying the release of his film Jugnuma. He never shies away from expressing his views and opinions on the things that happen in the industry. During a recent interview with News18, he shed light on his hot and cold relationship with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. For those who don’t know, they had first collaborated on Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya. While Bajpayee essayed the role of Bhiku Mhatre, the film was Kashyap’s big Bollywood break as a screenwriter.
However, they drifted apart after a creative difference on the sets due to Bhku’s death sequence. After Shool and Kaun, they finally reunited for Gangs Of Wasseypur; however, even that collaboration didn’t continue. Fast forward a few years, after a project that Kashyap was writing for him fell apart, the latter turned into a presenter for Jughuma, starring Bajpayee. Now, talking about it all during an interview with the media publication, he revealed that “suddenly” he has found “new love” for the filmmaker.
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Reacting to their hot and cold relationship, the 56-year-old actor said, “What’s there between me and him will never change. He used to be very frivolous at one point in time. Woh bachcha tha, abb jawaan ho gaya hai.” However, this may not necessarily mean that they will soon be collaborating for a new project.
Mocking the Bombay Velvet director’s acting ventures Leo, starring Thalapathy Vijay, and Maharaja, starring Vijay Sethupathi, the actor added that he they won’t work together as he still can’t sit and have a “proper conversation” with Kashyap as the latter keeps “poking” him and “hence, keeps getting it back from me.”
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Manoj added, “I see myself directing a film and him acting in a very bad role in it (laughs). I want to cast him and make his life hell. I want to make him realise that acting, from which he’s making money these days down south, isn’t a kid’s job.”
Recalling the first time they met, the Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai actor revealed that he was in his early twenties and, contrary to popular beliefs, it wasn’t on Satya’s sets but in Sriram Raghavan’s office in Andheri East. He added, “I remember Ramu was looking for a writer at that time and he gave me the responsibility of finding one. I gave him two writers but he wasn’t happy with them.”
“I met Anurag by chance and started talking. We smoked one cigarette after another. I realised that this boy is quite a mind, a voracious reader and a cinephile. I asked him if he wants to meet Ramu to write a film that I was supposed to do. He got excited. I took him to Ramu and I’ve known Anurag since then. He was 22 at that time,” he stated.
Talking about his recently released film Jugnuma-The Fable, directed by Raam Reddy, is set in the late 80s. It follows the journey of Dev (Manoj Bajpayee) as he discovers mysteriously burnt trees in his estate of fruit orchards, which is situated in the Indian Himalayas. Despite all the efforts, more and more fires keep breaking out. It also stars Tillotama Shome, Deepak Dobariyal, Priyanka Bose, Awan Pookot, and Hiral Sidhu in the lead roles. Presented by Guneet Monga and Anurag Kashyap, the movie will release on the big screens on September 12.
