Manoj Bajpai

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Manoj Bajpayee is an Indian actor and producer who has received National Awards for the Hindi films Satya (1999), Pinjar (2004), and Bhonsle (2021). He was revered with the Padma Shri Award in 2019.He used to participate in doha and poem competitions while he was studying in school. An old picture of Manoj Bajpayee.His father wanted to become a doctor but due to financial constraints, he could not pursue his dreams. So, he wanted Manoj to become a doctor.His parents named him Manoj after the veteran Indian actor Manoj Kumar. [14]Live Mint However, in his teens, he felt that he needs to change his name as Manoj was a common name in Bihar at that time. He wanted to change his name to Samar, but when he came to know that he had to follow a legal procedure with a fee to change his name, he dropped the idea and decided that he would change his name after he started earning. However, he dropped the idea of changing his name after his brothers advice. Manoj used Samar as his characters name in the Hindi film Shool (1999). [15]News 18 In an interview, Manoj shared that his surname was wrongly spelt in many films as Bajpai instead of Bajpayee. At the beginning of his acting career, his surname was written as Bajpai in film credits, however, later, he made sure that his name was spelt correctly. [16]The Times of India.In his teens, he read interviews of the veteran Indian actors Naseeruddin Shah and Raj Babbar in which it was written that they had studied at the National School of Drama, Delhi. Manoj then decided that he would also study at the NSD. So, he decided to pursue his higher studies, he would go to Delhi.After completing his schooling, Manoj got admission to Satyawati College in Delhi, but he wanted to study at Ramjas College in Delhi. So, he waited for a year and on a drama quota, he got admission to Ramjas College. Manoj Bajpayee in his younger days.While he was studying at Ramjas College, he participated in various stage plays and nukkad nataks. Thereafter, Manoj participated in theatre plays of the Hindu College Dramatics Society. Some of the theatre plays in which he has performed are William Shakespeares plays, Comedy of Errors, Ganashatru, and Ginni Pig. Meanwhile, he applied for the National School of Drama but was rejected. He then came to know about the theatre group Sambhav Theatre Group, Delhi and from there he pursued a one-year acting course for a fee of Rs 2500. At that time, his familys financial condition was not good. His father used to send him Rs 200 for monthly expenses and with that money, he used to pay the rent of his room and other bills and saved only Rs 20 per month. To save the travelling expenses, he enrolled himself in MA in the Pali language at Ramjas College and with the college bus pass, he used to travel from his room to the theatre group.He even joined language classes to improve his Hindi and English language.After completing the acting course from Sambhav Theatre Group, he applied for the NSD, but he was again rejected. He was so disappointed after the rejection that he even thought of committing suicide. [17]The Indian Express.Later, while he was performing in one of the theatre plays, he met the Indian actor Raghubir Yadav who suggested him to pursue his acting classes under the famous theatre artist Barry John. On his advise, Manoj joined the classes where Shah Rukh Khan was his batchmate. Manoj Bajpayee and Barry John.