Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan: Manoj Bajpayee talks on stardom | Bollywood

Actor Manoj Bajpayee has responded to a question on if he ‘finally feels like a star’. In a new interview, Manoj gave examples of actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan while talking about ‘stardom’. He said that the audience respects him because of his work but their reaction to Shah Rukh and Salman are very different. (Also Read | Manoj Bajpayee asks his Family Man co-star Samantha Ruth Prabhu to go easy on herself as it ‘scared’ him, she reacts)

A huge crowd gathers outside Amitabh Bachchan’s house every Sunday as he gives his fans a glimpse of himself. Shah Rukh Khan recently has been greeting his fans outside his home, Mannat, almost weekly. Salman Khan also appears on the balcony of his Galaxy Apartment on his birthdays and special occasions. On witnessing the actors, the fans scream, cheer, and wave at them.

In an interview with RJ Siddharth Kannan, Manoj said, “Star pata hai kya hota hai? Star hota hai Bachchan saab k bunglow se kabhi kabhi guzarta hun raasta jam hota hai. At the age of 80, log unko dekhne Sunday ko bhaari sankhya mein khare hote hai. Salman Khan ko dekho lathi charge karna padh jaata hai. Sirf apne balcony se aake haath hilata hai aadmi. Shah Rukh apne jo banaya hai apna pura machaan waha aake khada (Do you know what a star is? A star is, when passing by Amitabh Bachchan’s house I see a traffic jam on the road. At the age of 80, a huge crowd comes to see him on Sunday. At Salman Khan’s lathi charge has to be done. He just comes to his balcony and waves. Shah Rukh Khan comes and stands on his balcony). So, those are stardoms.”

He added, “Humlog kya hai, audience jo hai woh humari taraf aankh utha k dekti hai with respect. ‘Bohut achha kaam karte hai aap, hum aapki bohut filmein dekhte hai’. Jaese hi Salman, Shah Rukh hote hai toh (When it comes to us, the audience looks at us with respect. ‘You work really well, we watch a lot of your movies’. The moment Salman, Shah Rukh comes)(screams). We cater to our audience very differently and the reaction comes in accordance with that.”

Fans saw Manoj last in the song Kudi Meri alongside actors Abhimanyu Dassani and Dhvani Bhanushali. The track gathered decent responses from the audience. Manoj also has the courtroom drama Bandaa in the pipeline. The film marks the directorial debut of Apoorv Singh Karki.

Manoj will be seen in the upcoming family drama Gulmohar. Helmed by Rahul Chittella, the film also stars Sharmila Tagore, Simran, and Suraj Sharma in the lead roles. It is all set to stream exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar from March 3.