It is perhaps in the fitness of things that Manoj Bajpayee has developed from the struggling actor that he was till about 10 years ago to being a mentor for the next generation not only in his last film but also in real life.
That is what one discovered during a television encounter with an audience of students who spoke to the actor and his younger colleague, Siddharth Malhotra in Aiyaary.
The cinema produces stars all too quickly not only with the help of films that appeal to the young but also because of the support that comparative newcomers get from boisterous pre-release campaigns.
When it comes to engaging in serious discussions, one still has to rely on the experience of an actor like Bajpayee who has endured all the uncertainties of a career in Bollywood.
The actor had to survive a humble background, repeated failures to gain admission into the National School of Drama and a string of inconsequential appearances on the screen before he got serious attention with Ram Gopal Verma’s Satya.
The fact that he persisted with his ambition by joining an acting school had confirmed the spirit that finally paid dividends. This was the point that he sought to make to a young questioner who was firm on a career in acting.
The dreams that are pursued now are different from those that had chased Bajpayee two decades ago. What he sought to point out with great conviction was that the social climate may have changed but the basics remained the same.
How many would be looking for characters that Bajpayee has been playing after Satya, Gangs of Wasseypur, Shool and so on — rather than the creamy romance that has a more captive audience? Those were performances built around relentless efforts to grasp the essence of the characters in scripts that would inevitably move in the direction of the popular hero.
The best that the supporting character could do was to make best use of the lines and expressions provided by the script to make a presence and leave a lasting impression.
To be sure, he had thrived on the story telling skills of Neeraj Pandey with whom he has established a creative bond that is strikingly evident in Aiyaary. But the advice he could give to aspiring actors with the required skills was that there was no alternative to a personal grind.
The mentor was responding to a query on whether “outsiders” like him — as opposed to privileged insiders — had any hopes of making it to the big league.
Sitting beside him was Siddharth Malhotra who had achieved a fair amount of success in the few years that he had been around without the connections that help one to find access in a fiercely competitive territory.
His record should have provided the answer. But what Bajpayee proceeded to do is to virtually provide the guidelines that could be followed by those who were indeed serious.There are many who wait for miracles that catapult newcomers to the realms of stardom.
Bajpayee spoke in more logical tones about the determination to equip oneself with the required skills through early experiences in theatre, workshops and elocution classes — all of which were an integral part of the art of acting. What it also meant was that aspiring actors needed to have patience and make the best use of every opportunity — big or small.
Bajpayee himself had, perhaps reluctantly, agreed at one point to make one-line appearances in pursuit of what may have appeared a fading dream primarily to survive the depressions that went with the early struggle.
While the new generation is inclined to be drowned in glossy fantasy, the lesson to be learnt from Bajpayee was that survival strategies and uncomfortable encounters with the commercial network were, in fact, part of the grind.
Finally, it needed a break like the one he had in Satya to turn the struggle into the success that needed to be sustained with tactful moves in the right direction.
There were quite a few home truths delivered during that encounter. One of these was how the cinema had been affected by the running debate over the dividing line — if any — between nationalism and patriotism. For him it was all about love for the country that was expressed in films.
If there was any criticism in some quarters of the excesses that had occasionally been committed or attempts to redefine the concept, it could only be derived from the same spirit of love.
That is where he sought to bring the debate to an end when his latest film also attempted to raise some uncomfortable questions.
The more pertinent question that may have arisen is whether a thinking performer like Manoj Bajpayee has got the recognition he deserves for the contribution that he has made already. A national award has come his way.
What really matters are the standards that he has set which he can no longer afford to ignore. It may not have given him a commanding slot in a scenario that is governed by the 100-crore club.
But he has no reason to have any regrets. He has confirmed the creative satisfaction derived from ideas and skills that need not always be measured by commercial success.