Indian actor Manoj Bajpayee opens up on why Bollywood and OTTs are in a crises

“In the toughest of times, the industry should come together... We should really burst our bubble and come together and sit together and try to find an answer in a time which has become very, very different," said Bajpayee in an interview with Gulf News.

Speaking on the sidelines of the recently-concluded International Film Festival Of Goa (IFFI), Bajpayee shares his thoughts on the crisis facing independent cinema, the evolving OTT landscape, and his latest release, Despatch, a gripping crime drama now streaming on ZEE5 Global.

In his new thriller, directed by Kanu Behl, Bajpayee plays Joy, an investigative journalist on the cusp of breaking a career-defining scam story for his daily newspaper. The film explores the moral complexities of being a journalist covering the crime beat. 

Excerpts from our candid chat with Bajpayee as we discuss the middling state of Hindi films, safety of women on a film set, and why commerce should never trump art ... 

At a recent masterclass at International Indian Film Festival in Goa, you said that the Indie cinema is going through an interesting phase, where it's in crisis. What should we do about it?

There's no answer to that question. We are living in a time of extreme conflict, right? All over the world, there's extreme confusion. People are angry with each other. Countries are angry with each other. You don't know why, right? But everybody's angry with each other. Everybody has problems. The communities have problems with each other. In this kind of a conflict and confusion, nobody has an answer, and that will reflect on everything, that will reflect on your choices as an individual, that will reflect on your life, that will reflect on every sphere of society, be it cinema, corporate, education, everywhere. So if you ask me, what is the answer? I don't know, there's simply no answer.

Are OTT platforms not backing what you thought they would back?

OTT doesn’t know what to back, what not to back. Earlier, we thought that OTT is coming into the scene as a mentor, yes, for all these great art house films and the underdogs, as we call them. But now you feel that even they are rebooting, right? Even they are rethinking their policies. And so many mergers are happening, and suddenly the work has come to a standstill for the creative people. All industries are in crisis, including ours. But there is hope. As a creative person, we should not give up that hope. I know this, I know the world is going to fall in place. I know everything will be back in order.

You have hope, is it? You're always an eternal optimist.

I'm always an optimist. And also, I'm not somebody who would just give up in front of challenges. As a human being, I have that grain in me. I don’t know why, but you’d have to ask my parents. They are no more, but I have always been like this. I really feel that in the toughest of times, the industry should come together. In the toughest of times, they should not be cooped up and find their own bubble. We should really burst our bubble and come together and sit together and try to find an answer in a time which has become very, very different.

OTTs have democratised space. Don’t you think that has changed?

It has changed for some time. For five years, in our country, we had a superior market for independent films. I mean, you were making independent films or those art house films without knowing where you were going to sell them or without knowing who was going to be your mentor. There is a dearth of buyers now in the market. So one thing about making a good independent film is that you fortunately become part of all the great festivals, and you meet such lovely people, great buzzing minds. But once the festivals are over, you are hit by the reality: where to go from here, how to release.

Now Despatch got a great release on ZEE5 Global, that must be heartening ...

We try to sell those films or find those takers much earlier in the beginning. I know it’s very difficult for all the newcomer art house filmmakers and you have to struggle. It's a hustle, all the way. 

Even mainstream commercial movies, which are often mediocre, do the talking in terms of visibility and revenue. Mediocrity is celebrated. How do you see this?

That doesn’t mean I should be part of it. If you are making a mainstream film, that doesn’t mean you’re making something mediocre either. You can make a great mainstream film. There are many fantastic mainstream films. I myself have been part of really great ones. But commercial films, in the name of entertainment, often take it very easy, and they take the audience for granted. That’s where my problem lies. Cinema as an art and cinema as a business need to find balance. We should make a film with utmost passion and intelligence both. But we can’t take out the fact that we have to also go to the market to sell. We can’t be so indulgent that it becomes difficult to sell. But also, at the same time, we should not, by any chance, compromise on the creative part just to make it saleable.

Box-office office numbers, which are not even audited, get celebrated. What’s your take on that?

Let me tell you one thing: any mainstream film which you have seen lately in theaters, I can assure you, Despatch will be talked about even 20 years from now. And the mediocre film, which has done huge numbers, will not even be mentioned six months from now. For me, what matters is how much we put in and how much we get. That is important.

Women have important roles in your films. Is that something you actively look for in a story?

I look at the story. A story can’t be full and complete if all the characters are not full and complete, be it a woman or a man. I’m not going by gender. I’m going by the story. A story cannot be authentic and have quality if any part is not well written. And we can’t make a male character a hero when it is about the female part.

But there are actors who insist on it, right?

Of course. You’re talking about 20 years back. But the world has been changing, and so has the industry. Things are far, far better now. I come from a time when hardly there used to be one female crew member on a set. Now, the ratio has changed significantly. On the sets of 'Gulmohar', it was mostly women. 

Do you ensure that on the sets you are on, women are safe?

On my sets, I’ve never seen misbehaviour. That is the kind of people I choose to work with. And if there is any kind of misbehavior with anyone, man or woman, they are immediately taken to task. It also comes from the top. If your lead actors or directors are credible people, the message is clear on set.

You avoid social media. How do you manage that?

I’m not that much of an in-your-face kind of person. I like to be on my own. I like to travel, to explore. My job is to work in a film, work like a dog, and then enjoy the outcome. After that, I take off and feel free.

You’ve mentioned your love for travel before. Where do you plan to go next?

My wife, my daughter, and I love the mountains or coming to Goa. Next year, we’re planning to go to Italy, a country we’ve never been to. We’d love to explore and live like locals.

Don't Miss It!

Despatch is out on ZEE5 Global now