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'I would love to play Rama. I want to prove that a black man can also be sexy'

Manoj Bajpeyi Click for bigger pic!

He is the star of the new cinema. Manoj Bajpeyi has stormed the citadel of showbiz to set an alternative role model for the actor as hero. But the man who swears by Mephisto and Hamlet is all set to don the mantle of Hero No 1 as well. Will that be a compromise? Well, the second most famous Bajpeyi in the land does not seem to think so. Pritish Nandy speaks to Bollywood's new rage.

What is life after Satya like? Are you excited by all the acclaim and awards?

Opportunities like Satya are very rare and, frankly, I am very lucky to have found the right film to demonstrate my abilities as an actor. I am an actor who came from hardcore theatre and this is my third film. I have also acted in television serials. But this is the first time I had a director who said: I believe in you; in fact, I have complete faith in you. Whatever you do, I will accept. He was like a father who accepts his child with all his weaknesses, all his faults. I was very lucky to have him.

Did you delineate the role of Bhiku Mhatre yourself? Did you take a lot of liberties with the script?

Manoj Bajpeyi in Satya Click for bigger pic!

My director narrated the role to me in amazing detail. He narrated it to me at least a thousand times. I used to travel with him in his car and he would keep telling me more and more about the role and we would finetune it. Wherever he travelled, he took me with him and for me it was a wonderful opportunity to understand the role. I listened to him and decided that I would add one more element to the character, that of unpredictability. An emotional edge.

A manic edge you could say…

You are right, Mr Nandy. It was a manic edge. But I was careful not to make it sound or look melodramatic. That would have been disastrous.

But the danger with a role like this is that it can easily typecast you. Like Nana Patekar got so easily typecast that he has never been able to break out of that role. In movie after movie he plays the same character with slight variations. When he tried to break away, as in Khamoshi, he was immediately rejected by the audience. In Kaun also, you have brought in that edge…

In Kaun I have played the most complex and difficult role of my life. It was a make or break role for me, extremely, extremely complex. Irritating, caring, dangerous, innocent, idiotic and, at the same time, credible. I have never before done a character as strange and peculiar as this. I have never ever seen a character like this played before on the screen or the stage.

Manoj Bajpeyi in Kaun Click for bigger pic!

It was a unique experience and that is why I found it so fascinating. It was also very difficult for me because this was my first experience of a thriller and, on top of that, I had no supporting cast. There was only Urmila in the first half and one more character added on in the second half. It was not easy to sustain such a difficult and complex character over the entire duration of the movie.

I am lucky it worked and the film has been doing so well in the big cities. If I had failed in this role, the whole film would have come crashing down. Ramu told me this. He said this character has suddenly come from thin air and if it did not sustain, if it looked phoney or unreal or lacked credibility, the whole film would have failed to leave an enduring impact.

Is there any role that you would die to play? Any character from theatre or movies that has touched you deeply, that you think will suit you to the T?

I would like to play Mephisto. You may have seen the Hungarian film…

I have seen the film.

I think it is one of the most wonderful roles and I have seen it also in the theatre. It is very exciting, very moving. I would also like to play Hamlet. The Russian Hamlet. It is such a complex and powerful role and you must remember that my background is theatre. So it is only natural for me to admire theatrical roles. Roles like Mephisto, Hamlet…

Any Indian character you dream of playing one day? Devdas or Gandhi or Shrikant?

Rama. I would love to play Rama. There is a typical look for Rama which I would like to challenge. Fair, with a well worked out, muscular body and an innocent face. I would like to give Rama an ordinary face, like mine. I would like to give him my body. I would like to give Rama a completely new look. I want to prove that a black man can also be sexy.

But so many people have proved it before you? From Sidney Poiter to Michael Jackson. From Michael Jordan to Denzil Washington.

I mean Indian. In India, the black man is still not heroic material. He is the ordinary man, the man who everyone can stamp on, jump on, treat badly. I want to show that it is possible to change that image. That is why I want to play Rama. It is a role that has always appealed to me. I think I can discover shades and nuances to his character that others always miss out.

In the South, Rama is neither heroic nor fair. Ravana is the hero out there. Rama, a wimp. Is that the role you want to play?

No, I want to play Rama as the hero. But a different kind of hero. The dark, battling hero full of his own uncertainties.

What about the typical Bollywood roles as hero? Are you planning to play those as well?

Manoj Bajpeyi Click for bigger pic!

I have been meeting all the top directors and telling them that I am ready to play any of the roles they want me to, as hero. I have spoken to Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai. They have both promised to give me roles in their coming films. I believe they are great directors who have an integrity of their own. They are not cheap commercial filmwallahs. I would love to work for them.

Even David Dhawan has agreed to cast me in one of his forthcoming films. You know the typical comedies that he makes. I would love to act in one of them. I have nothing against commercial cinema. For me, it is the role that matters. If the role gives me a chance to show my acting prowess, I would love to do it.

The fact that I do not look like a typical Hindi film hero is my strength. I would like to exploit that strength. I would like to redefine the look of the hero, the way the hero walks, talks, behaves, falls in love. That would be a wonderful challenge for me as an actor.