Long prior to his time as one of the most notable actors in Indian film, Manoj Bajpayee had made various decisions regarding his career that were not based on financial considerations. One of those decisions was accepting a small, yet meaningful, part in Yash Chopra’s 2004 romantic film, Veer-Zaara; in fact, the overall experience is so memorable to him that he continues to reminisce about it.
While appearing on the Shekhar Suman chat show, Shekhar Tonite, Bajpayee stated that Yash Chopra had actually reached out directly to him to discuss the film and, given that he didn’t have to read the entire screenplay first, the opportunity to work with the director was sufficient for him to agree to become involved in the project.
By this point in time, Bajpayee was already such a strong actor, particularly demonstrated through movies such as Satya and Pinjar, that he was relatively well-known to audiences, and even though he has a pretty insignificant role in Veer-Zaara, Chopra gave him a salary equivalent to what he would typically be paid for acting as a lead actor.
Bajpayee also shared an amusing exchange with Chopra. After hearing the narration, he jokingly asked the director if he would ever cast him in a bigger role. In a candid way, Yashji said he did not typically make a movie specifically for someone like Bajpayee but thought he was ideal for this script that he had provided to him.
Thus far, the actor has discussed turning down roles after Satya due to the commercial prospects associated with them for the sake of potential similar future roles. Now, he indicates that he has no regret over not accepting the commercial option but selecting a more meaningful opportunity instead of a very big paycheck is even more remarkable considering the excellent way that VHJ (Veer-Zaara) has treated the actor and many other actors.
Meanwhile, Veer-Zaara stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta in the lead roles. It was a massive critical and commercial blockbuster. Released in November 2004, it emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film of that year.
