Manoj Bajpayee recalls the difficult period of seven years after Satya, saying that he had "no money, no food……" 

Manoj Bajpayee claimed that the 1990s were a challenging time for him, marked by starvation, doubt in himself, and ambiguity.

Manoj Bajpayee recently made an appearance on YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia's channel to discuss his acting decisions, career, and tough times. Manoj Bajpayee has been promoting his most recent release, Gulmohar, a Disney Plus Hotstar feature film. The well-known actor, who has appeared in movies like Satya, Kaun, Shool, Gangs of Wasseypur, and Rajneeti among others, admitted there was a period when he struggled to make ends meet.

The performer claimed that when he was at his most depressed the performer claimed that when he relocated from New Delhi to Mumbai in order to establish himself as an actor, he was at his lowest point. "It was a very difficult time in my life when I moved from Delhi to Mumbai; in Delhi, I used to work in theatre for 18 hours a day without pay, but there was a sense of creative fulfilment. khaana kaha se aayega pata nahi hota thi (I did not know from where I would get my next meal from). I was poor, but God was gracious. I wasn't hungry, but I was occupied. But I didn't have a job, sustenance, or money when I first arrived here (in Mumbai). In the 1990s, I started to question my abilities and my identity, Manoj said in a muddled Hindi and English.

The actor said, "I was very weak physically, and wherever I used to go, be it a set or a producer's office, I was shown the door almost instantly, there were no casting directors back then." He continued by saying that he was rejected everywhere.

But after his performance in Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen, director Ram Gopal Varma gave him an opportunity in the movies Daud and Satya, which catapulted him to stardom. However, the performer admitted that even after Satya, he experienced difficult times that lasted for seven long years before director Prakash Jha knocked on his door door with the critically acclaimed political thriller Rajneeti.

"Despite Pinjar being one of my best pieces today, no one was touching me after it. However, the movie wasn't successful at the time's theatres. Ek bewakoof aur ghatiya darje ki film superhit ho jayegi, phir uss tarike ki film aur banti hai. This is how our business operates (One badly made film will become a blockbuster, and the rest of the industry goes on to follow the same sad formula, ignoring other better-made movies). My bad period began and lasted for seven years. Additionally, cameramen, reporters, and anchors would move their mics and cameras away from me when I entered a room full of people.

I wouldn't feel bad because I knew I only needed one part to get back on track, and Prakash Jha's Rajneeti gave me that role, Manoj said with a smile.

The most recent movie that Manoj Bajpayee has appeared in is the Disney Plus Hotstar production Gulmohar, in which he first appears alongside the legendary actress Sharmila Tagore.