'Bhaiyya Ji' actor Manoj Bajpayee: 'We shouldn't mock people from UP, Bihar, MP as 'Bhaiya', instead respect them'

‘Bhaiyya Ji’ actor Manoj Bajpayee: ‘We shouldn’t mock people from UP, Bihar, MP as ‘Bhaiya’, instead respect them’

Manoj Bajpayee is returning to the silver screen with his new offering ‘Bhaiyya Ji’ and the film’s trailer launch was held in Mumbai today (9 May). The National Award-winning actor, who started his career with negative roles, said initially he was being only offered antagonists role.

He said that Bollywood is quick to typecast actors. Manoj, who has impressed one and all with his positive roles in series like ‘The Family Man’, said this is something he doesn’t like about the industry and that the cinema needs to be more culturally rooted.

“People offered me villain roles, like in ‘Tevar’, but the film didn’t work out. There’s a rule in the industry that limits us. I have issues with our mainstream cinema; it doesn’t represent our culture accurately. We’ve lost our audience because of this. It used to be different in the ’70s and ’90s, showing things as they were. Our cinema needs to be more culturally rooted, like ‘Bhaiyya Ji’. I read about a man who discovered his father was murdered, so he was travelling somewhere by a train, snatched the chain, stopped train, and killed people. This inspired me to make a film about this theme of revenge,” he said at the trailer launch.

Manoj, who hails from Bihar himself, said that the term ‘Bhaiya ji’ is being used in a manner where it is being said to let down people especially from MP, Bihar and UP. Manoj says he has addressed this issue in his movie.

“In places like MP, UP, and Bihar, people casually use the term ‘Bhaiya’, but I believe these individuals deserve respect. We shouldn’t mock them; we should respect them. My movie will also address this issue, emphasising that we should use ‘Bhaiya Ji’ to show respect and not to humiliate anybody,” said Manoj.

This is Manoj’s 100 th movie and with this he also turns producer.

‘Bhaiyya Ji’, which has been directed by Apoorv Singh Karki of ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’, will release in theatres on May 24.

Vinod Bhanushali, Samiksha Shael Oswal, and Shabana Raza Bajpayee present Bhaiyya Ji, Bhanushali Studios Limited, SSO Productions, and Aurega Studios Production.

This revenge drama is produced by Vinod Bhanushali, Kamlesh Bhanushali, Samiksha Oswal, Shael Oswal, Shabana Raza Bajpayee, and Vikram Khakhar.

Actors Suvinder Vicky, Jatin Goswami, Vipin Sharma, and Zoya Hussain will be seen playing pivotal roles in the movie.

Manoj Bajpayee was last seen in ‘Joram’, which was the story of survival, justice, and revenge. Joram was directed by Devashish Makhija, and it won the Critic Choice Awards 2024.