Mumbai: Veteran actor Manoj Bajpayee turns 51 Thursday. Since childhood, he wanted to become an actor.
After completing his 12th from Maharani Janaki College in Bettiah, he moved to New Delhi at the age of seventeen and went to Satyawati, then to Ramjas College, Delhi University.
Bajpayee had heard about the National School of Drama from actors such as Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah, so he applied. He was rejected three times and wanted to commit suicide afterwards. He then attended acting coach Barry John’s workshop after actor Raghubir Yadav’s suggestion. Impressed by Bajpayee’s acting, John hired him to assist him in his teaching. After that he applied at the National School of Drama for the fourth time, and they offered him a teaching position at the school instead.
The actor tries to live his character and his skills seen in films like Satya, Shool, Special 26, Gangs of Wasseypur and Raajneeti.
Bajpayee started his acting career with the serial Swabhimaan aired on Doordarshan. He debuted with Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen but got recognition in the year 1998 with Ram Gopal Varma’s film Satya. He has also received the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Satya and Shool while he also received the National Film Award (Special Jury) for his brilliant acting in the film Pinjar.
On personal front, Manoj is married to Neha Bajpayee whose real name is Shabana Raza. She had changed her name after appearing in films. Neha made her debut with Bobby Deol’s Kareeb (1998).
Bajpayee was married to a girl from Delhi, but got divorced during his period of struggle. He met actress Neha, right after her debut film.
Manoj and Neha started dating each other only after the release of the film Kareeb. The two got married in 2006 after dating each other for almost 7 years. Both Manoj and Neha are perfect for each other. The couple has a daughter.
