Manoj Bajpayee: Dreams and Rejections

Dreams evolve into aspirations, and aspirations evolve into ambitions and goals. This process takes place while our passion towards the destination increases multiple folds. However, life never goes as planned. Sometimes, our goals seem unachievable because of certain circumstances. But, if you have the will to dream about your destination, then you have the power to succeed. Read this article about actor Manoj Bajpayee to know about how he dreamt about his destination and what it took for him to reach there.

Manoj Bajpayee was not born with a silver spoon. It was far from that. His father worked as a farmer and the family struggled a lot to make the ends meet. He attended a hut school along with his siblings. On the rare days when they visited the theater in the city, Manoj felt insanely attracted to the idea of acting. By the age of 9, he was sure of what he wanted to be.

Beginning of struggle

Although he was aware of his dream to act, he was also aware of the fact that his family could not afford it. So, he continued with his studies and at 17, moved to Delhi for college. He did theater in his college days and he says that he was “an outsider trying to fit in.” He taught himself English and Hindi because he spoke in Bhojpuri.

Like any other actor “trying to fit in” in the city, he applied for National School of Drama, from where he got rejected, not once or twice, but thrice. At this point, all the negative thoughts that he was avoiding since a long time, started to resurface. Manoj got depressed to the point that he was close to committing suicide.

Ray of sunshine

Nonetheless, his friends helped him and he gathered himself together and applied for Barry Jones acting classes where he soon became an assistant. Manoj Bajpayee applied for NSD again, but this time as a teacher and even got in. Not giving up on himself back then made all the difference for him. Such is life; it tests us at our worst but if we bounce back, there’s nothing stopping us.

Struggle continues

After NSD, he went to Mumbai, thinking he was ready for acting, but life had very different plans. He rented a chawl there and started to look for roles. But he was facing constant rejection. Manoj lost old projects before he could get any new ones. Once an ad agency tore his photograph, saying that he didn’t fit the “ideal hero” face. Paying rent became very difficult and he slept hungry on nights when even vada pav seemed costly to him.

Also read Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s success story.

The struggle continued for 4 years. But he kept going because of his love for the art. That is the message that we can derive from his story. If we are consistent with our efforts, we will land up in a good space eventually. It takes time but not forever. After years of facing rejection, Manoj Bajpayee finally landed a role in a TV series from where he came to the notice of several directors. It wasn’t until his first major Bollywood film “Satya” that he received appreciation for his skills.

Today, we know him as a versatile actor but his journey to success wasn’t an easy one. We hope this article inspired you in any way because inspiration is free. Find it wherever you can!