Manoj Bajpayee opened up on the insider-outsider debate and how the industry needs to push, encourage and support true talent.
Manoj Bajpayee
The nepotism debate has gathered strength after the untimely demise of Kai Po Che actor Sushant Singh Rajput. People, including a few Bollywood personalities and the public, have been naming and shaming star kids and their families in this debate, calling for bans on them and their films.
Amid this uproar, Manoj Bajpayee recently opened up on what he thinks about the 'insider-outsider' debate. While Sushant Singh Rajput was considered an outsider in Bollywood, one who didn't have any connections and didn't come from a film background, star kids and their families are being accused of having a nepotistic approach in the industry.
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In an interview with Hindustan Times, Manoj Bajpayee said, "In this industry, what I've learnt is that it has become imperative to improve upon ourselves. To push and encourage, support, mentoring talent should be the prime focus. Also, we should help those who're coming from outside, living alone in the most miserable conditions, but have got talent."
Emphasising on the word 'talent', Bajpayee said, "I'm not saying give a chance to everyone, but to those who you think are talented. You should push and encourage them, and try to make their journey, which is full of struggle, shorter. That's all you can do. It doesn't take too much money. But you've to ask yourself — are you interested in changing the system?"
Also read: Hansal Mehta On The Nepotism Debate: My Son Will Make Films If He Deserves To Make Them
Talking about how the terms 'insider' and 'outsider' are quite new to the industry, Manoj Bajpayee said, "I remember, people were coming from outside — some were becoming successful, some not, for whatever reason, but it was never about insider-outsider. I mean in the same industry, Shah Rukh Khan, at the same time Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty came in. Ajay Devgn's father was a very well-known action director..."
"People found them interesting, they went with them, but these words 'insider outsider', and the division between them, and the debate, started happening only about two decades back. Why is this talk happening?" he added.
Manoj Bajpayee recently spoke to mid-day about his Sonchiriya co-star Sushant Singh Rajput. He said, "It is very hard to come to terms with the fact that Sushant is no more. He left his family, and his friends, who knew him as a fun-loving and respectful person, and one who was curious and full of life. He always wanted to know about the unknown; about space and quantum physics, and about performances and filmmaking...
The moments I spent with him during the making of Sonchiriya are flashing in front of my eyes. I find it hard to believe that we will never meet again. He wanted to have lunch at my home, and gorge on mutton that was cooked by me. I feel heartbroken that our dinner plans were so tragically put to an end. I hope that he finds peace, wherever he is."
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