'Family Man' star Manoj Bajpayee bats for creative liberty, says viewers can't force directors to make films that suit their taste

Kolkata: Popular actor Manoj Bajpayee said nobody can force a filmmaker to make movies of a particular genre. Interacting with reporters during the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival here recently, the 54-year old actor said it is up to people to choose the kind of films they want to see.

"It is up to the audience to choose what films they want to see. There has to be space for everyone and every genre. Please don't ask a filmmaker to make a movie of your choice. A director is free to make a film of his choice," the 'Satya' actor said.

Bajpayee said most Indian movies promote good family values and glorify women.


"I am thankful to directors for giving me choices. I have to make the most of it before I leave (the stage). I expect a lot from myself. I choose my roles carefully," the 'Gangs of Wasseypur' actor said.

Bajpayee said he doesn't see "negative and positive roles" as there are lots of possibilities and a wide variety of scripts nowadays.

On the growing popularity of the OTT platform,Bajpayee , whose 'The Family Man' on the web was a runaway hit, said, "OTT has certainly democratised the system and helped the entire (film) industry."

He said, "The OTT platform has helped many actors. So many stars came up during the pandemic when people were glued to their mobile phones."

On OTT content regulation, he said, "Censorship in digital media should be introduced only when it is required. I think people are intelligent and sensible."

Paying tributes to Satyajit Ray, he said, "I am curious to know the experiences of actors who worked with Ray. When I worked with Sharmilaji (Sharmila Tagore) in a film, I used to often asked her to share her experience about working with Ray."

Expressing reservations on calling the Hindi film industry as Bollywood, he said, "It is a bad copy of Hollywood."

He said the working styles and values between Hollywood and our film industry don't match.