This versatile actor has proved his mettle in the film industry by giving a host of power packed performance from inspector Kripa Shakar Thakur in ‘Jaago' to underworld don Bhiku Mhatre in ‘Satya'. Winning a National award for his performance in ‘Pinjar', Manoj Bajpai has once again grabbed an extra ordinary film ‘Swami', which depicts relationships in a person's life.

Q: Tell us about your role in ‘Swami'.
A: ‘Swami' is a film about the relationship between a husband and a wife and their emotional love story. I play the character of Swami who is an honest family man. He loves his wife and wants to fulfill all her dreams. He is not selfish and his heart is like that of a child. Juhi Chawla is playing my wife in this film.

Q: Is this film based on choreographer Ganesh Acharya'a true life experience?
A: Yes, ‘Swami' is based on Ganesh's parents' real life experience.

Q: Ganesh is a choreographer by profession. How is he as a director?
A: We all know that Ganesh is a good choreographer but he is as good a director. He himself is an emotional person and always tries to see things from an emotional point of view.

People would expect song and dance in the film because Ganesh is a choreographer, but in actuality, there is not a single song or dance sequence in ‘Swami'. There are a few songs which run in the background.

Q: Heard that you cried at the premiere of this film?
A: (laughs) No it wasn't me, it was Akshay Kumar. Akshay is a good friend of Ganesh and thus had been invited for the premiere of the film.

Q: This is your first film with Juhi Chawla. How was it working with her?
A: Juhi is an extremely talented actress. What else can I say for her? It would be injustice if a person like me comments on her.

Q: You have given some excellent performances, then why a cameo in ‘Bewafa'?
A: The director if the film ‘Bewafa' Dhamesh Darshan is a good friend of mine and this is the reason as to why I agreed on even a small role. He told me that no one else fitted in the role of Dil Arora better than me. I had full trust on him and moreover I can do anything for my friends.

Q: Your character Dil Arora was quiet notorious in the film. How are you in your real life?
A: I'm pretty close to the character Dil Arora, maybe even more notorious than Dil.

Q: Your last film 1971 did not do too well in spite of a talented star cast?
A: Guess there was some mistake from our side. A film goes through a lot of people before it reaches the audience. Probably one of us did not stand up to the expectation of the director.

Q: You have played a lot of characters. Which one has been the most comfortable one?
A: As a performer, I find myself comfortable in all the characters. The day I say that I am comfortable with a particular kind of role, that day I would no longer be an actor. Limitations never allow you to grow. Thus I have not set any kind of limitations or boundaries when it comes to choice of roles.

Q: You have said that you no longer want to work with Ram Gopal Varma. Any specific reason?
A: Yes there is a reason behind it. You know when a relationship no longer has trust and respect then the question of self-respect creeps in and to safe guard your self respect, it is better to walk of. I do not wish to talk more about it.

Q: Don't you feel that in this professional film industry, you are too emotional?
A: I am a person who believes in human values. I feel that someone who does not have emotions is not a human.

Q: You had hosted a game show ‘Kam Ya Zyaada' on television. Any plans of getting back?
A: No not yet. Many actors host game shows for money but I did it for my friend Pradeep Guha who is the CEO of Zee Network. When he had joined Zee, he had been given the responsibility to launch a game show. It was just an effort from my side to help him in his effort.

Q: Are you playing the character of Jay Singh in your next movie ‘Return to Rajapur'?
A: No in this movie I'm playing an estate agent who wants to open a heritage hotel. He falls in love with a married American woman and from there the story moves on. I do not like to repeat the characters that I have already played. I wish the younger generation plays them.

Q: Tell us about your upcoming projects.
A: My upcoming films include Rajeev Virani's ‘The Whisperer', Sanjay Gupta's ‘Dus Kahaniyaan', ‘Nabbay Minute', ‘Return to Rajapur' and ‘Happy'. ‘The Whisperer' is an English film along with Rahul Bose. It is a story of a man who rises from rags to riches.

It is a physiological thriller. Recently at the World Fest this film has won awards in the best thriller and best editing category. In ‘Dus Kahaniyaan' I feature in a fifteen minute story called ‘Zaheer' opposite Diya Mirza. - Rajnee Gupta