Manoj Bajpayee’s first priority? To finish stuck films due to Covid, doesn’t have ‘luxury’ to prepare

He has a totally packed schedule till 2023, so much so that he doesn’t even have time to take a breather between projects. Manoj Bajpayee would have liked more time to prepare for his characters in all the projects though.

Covid has spoiled everything. The actor explains that while there are actors who do make sure to take weeks and months to prepare, he doesn’t have the ‘luxury’ to do that as there is the pressure to wrap up work quickly.

“All of them are right in their interpretation in all of it. I have been working like that since many years now. Now the time is such that, I don’t have the luxury. I used to take one-two months break in between two films. Now I don’t have that luxury because all directors have been waiting. Due to the pandemic, their films were stuck. My first priority is to finish their films,” says the 52-year-old.

But he still manages to work it out. The actor starts preparing for his next project while he is shooting for another. “Once I am through with one film halfway, then I start preparing, whenever there’s a break,” adds Bajpayee, saying he has been doing this for many years, including his theatre days.

“I know how to manoeuvre my way now. The result is completely in God’s hand, but we don’t leave any stone unturned to achieve what we set out to achieve,” says The Family Man actor, who has a host of OTT content in the pipeline.

While he believes that only big ticket films will be able to attract audiences to theatres now, we ask him: does this mean smaller films are only appropriate for direct to OTT now?

He says, “Till the time the pandemic is there, OTT will, too. People should not undermine OTT and it’s reach, it is wider than theatres. All films there are getting a wide range of audience. It is better to release their films (small films) on OTT, since you get the same kind of appreciation.”