Sunday, April 23, 2017

Birthday Special: Top 7 Must Watch Films of Manoj Bajpayee



A voice unlike any, a brooding stare that commands attention on screen and an artistry that always gets acclaim, Manoj Bajpayee is considered one of the finest actors of Indian Cinema.

As the actor with brilliant acting chops celebrates his 48th Birthday today, April 23 2017, we list Top 7 watch films of the powerhouse performer.


1) SATYA (1998)




"Mumabi ka Don Kaun? Bhiku Matre"..

Manoj Bajpayee's famous lines from this crime thriller, directed by Ram Gopal Verma and written by Saurabh Shukla Anurag Kashyap, will always be the one of the most influential and iconic dialogue in a Hindi Film. The film turned him a Star overnight.

The film marked the introduction of a new genre of film making, a variation of film noir that has been called Mumbai noir, showing the underbelly of the millennium city - the underworld, the gang wars, the murders and the extortion unlike anything ever seen before. Despite excessive violence and liberal use of expletives, the film was a runaway hit among both masses and classes in non-Mumbai belts.

Bajpayee received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for the film.


2) SHOOL (1999)




Written by Ram Gopal Verma and directed by E.Niwas, SHOOL portrays the politician-criminal nexus and the criminalization of politics in the Indian state of Bihar, and its effect on the life of an honest police officer.

Manoj Bajpayee portrayal of Inspector Samar Pratap Singh opposite Sayaji Shinde as the borderline psychopath criminal-politician Bachhu Yadav gives the often cited title of one of the Best Cop Movies ever to SHOOL.

Bajpayee won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance while the Film was adjudged Best Feature Film in Hindi at the National Film Awards 2000.


3) KAUN (1999)




A psychological thriller by Ram Gopal Verma, Kaun considered to be one of the best collaborations between Ram Gopal Varma and Urmila Matondkar and is touted to be one of  the best  Manoj Bajpai movies. It features a man claiming to be a white collar worker and another man claiming to be a police inspector, both attempting to get into the house of a young woman.

The edge of the seat thriller has since received cult status.


4) PINJAR (2003)




Based on a Punjabi Novel by Amrita Pritam, PINJAR is a story of Hindu-Muslim problems during the partition of India.

Bajpayee was honored with Special Jury Award at the National FIlm Awards in 2004 for his brilliant performance as Rashid, a muslim, who is pressurised by his family to kidnap Puro, a hindu, to keep the family rivalry alive by definiling her of her modestly. But Rashid is righteous to not do her any wrong and amidst social life of the time, the two get married, after facing dejections but the partition of the country makes the two go seperate ways in an emotional bid.


5) RAJNEETI (2010)




With a huge starcast that included Ajay Devgan, Nana Patekar, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Sarah Thompson and Naseeruddin Shah, director Prakash Jah drew parallels to the epic Mahabharata where shades of Krishna ,Arjuna, Bheema, Duryodhana and Karna can be seen in the character portrayed.

Bajpai's role was of Veerendra Pratap Singh (based on the character of Duryodhana), a greedy politician, who considers himself the rightful heir of a political family. His  mesperic performance grabbed eyeballs of both masses and critics alike, giving him major recognisation in the ensemble piece that proved to be a major commercial success worldwide.

Critically the movie was well received, and earned about 143 crores at the Box Office. It had portrayed the murkiness and the tricks of politicians and the struggle very well. Asequel of Raajneeti has been declared by Prakash Jha. This movie will cast Katrina Kaif as Powerful Politician. It is also one of the best Manoj Bajpai movies and the acting of all the stars has been appreciated by the audience.


6) GANGS OF WASEYPUR (2012)




Centered on the coal mafia of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggles, politics and vengeance between three crime families, Manoj Bajpayee played the role of Sardar Khan, the most feared man in Wasseypur, in this two part movie series.

According to Bajpayee, the role of Sardar Khan is the most negative role he has done till date. His motivation for doing this role came from the fact that there was "something new" with the character of Sardar Khan. Bajpayee shone in this ensemble never-before-seen movie telling experience which was brutal, sinister yet brilliantly quirky, one which ushered daring new wave of cinema in Indian film industry. 


7) ALIGARH (2015)




In Hansal Mehta's biographical film ALIGARH, Bajpayee played the role of Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, a professor of Marathi and the head of the Classical Modern Indian Languages Faculty at the famed Aligarh Muslim University, who was suspended on grounds of morality - being gay.

Bajpayee gave a riveting, nuanced and extremely powerful performance in this superlative and courageous pice of real life cinema.

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