Happy Birthday Manoj Bajpayee

One of Bollywood's finest yet highly underrated actors, Manoj Bajpayee celebrates his 46th birthday today.

Born in a small village of Bihar in 1969, Bajpayee completed his education from Delhi University with a degree in History. He was always keen about drama and theatre, which got him into Barry John's Drama School after having faced rejection from the National School of Drama numerous times.

To earn a basic living, Bajpayee worked as a teacher at the Salaam Balak Trust in New Delhi. No sooner his dream turned true as he bagged his first venture, a television show on Doordarshan titled Swaabhimaan, directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Hereafter he went on to play side roles in various films including Droh Kaal (1994), Bandit Queen (1994) and Dastak (1996) before earning his first role as a main lead with Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar (2000) co-starring Tabu. This film bonked at the box office and it was not until Ram Gopal Verma's Satya (1998), that Bajpayee received the much deserving critical acclaim and fame. His character of a cunning gangster won him a Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) alongside a National Film Award for Supporting Actor and various other nominations.

Bajpayee has worked in over 50 films, a majority of which have seen critical success including Zubeidaa (2001), Aks (2001), Pinjar (2003), LOC: Kargil (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Bewafaa (2005). Just like wine getting better with age, Bajpayee's versatility as an actor has increased swiftly with time. His more recent works such as Raajneeti (2010), Aarakshan (2011), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Special 26 (2013), Satyagraha: Democracy Under Fire (2013) and Tevar (2015) sufficiently prove that superstars in Bollywood are not just those who can romance and do some action, but also those who can easily blend into a grey character and bring out the best in it. Surely, carrying a villain with such boldness is not everyone's cup of tea!

On the personal front, Bajpayee is happily married to Neha (Shabana Raza) and together they have a beautiful daughter, Ava Nayla.

On the occasion of Bajpayee's birthday, we at BollyCurry would like to share some of his deepest secrets. Read on to find out!

Did You Know?

1. Bajpayee studied with Shah Rukh Khan at Barry's Drama School and he was among the best students of the batch
2. Bajpayee's first name was inspired from actor Manoj Kumar's name, since he desired to become just like him
3. At one point, Bajpayee decided to change his name to Samar in order to bring more aggression and power to his destiny.

Finally, BollyCurry wishes Manoj Bajpayee a wonderful birthday, with the hope that he keeps up his multifaceted personality and delivers his ultimate best in all his future endeavours.

Author: Sonia R.
Editor(s): Pooja B. and Gunia K.
Graphics: Shikha A.

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