'The Family Man' actor, Manoj Bajpayee is happily married to Shabana Raza, but not everyone is aware that she is his second wife. Here's all you need to know about his first wife!
Manoj Bajpayee is one of the few actors, who deserve credit for the emergence of content-based films in Bollywood. From appearing in commercial films to doing a series of content-based movies in his career, Manoj is one of the few actors, who knows the art of striking a balance between commercial and parallel cinema. Over the decades, we have seen him giving a series of timeless acting performances in movies from different genres.
With three National Awards, six Filmfare Awards, and two Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Manoj Bajpayee is right up there in the list of India's greatest actors ever. Not only this, he was also bestowed with the Padma Shri award back in 2019 for his incredible contribution to Indian cinema. If we talk about some of the biggest hits of his acting career so far. It includes films like Bandit Queen, Satya, Kaun?, Aks, Road, LOC: Kargil, Shool, Pinjar, Raajneeti, Gangs of Wasseypur, Special 26, Aligarh, Bhonsle, Joram, and many more.
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Apart from dominating the big screen with his powerful acting performances, Manoj Bajpayee also created a stir in the OTT space with his work in The Family Man. The series introduced the iconic actor to the new generation and made him a part of pop culture, courtesy of its iconic scenes that were turned into memes. While everyone knows everything related to Manoj Bajpayee's film career, not many know about the fact that he married twice.
Yes! You read it right. Manoj Bajpayee tied the marital knot twice, but his second marriage with Shabana Raza is mostly known to everyone. The iconic actor's first marriage is something that is unknown to a relatively large section of society. Before we head to Manoj Bajpayee's first marriage, let's talk about his current wife, Shabana Raza and their inter-faith marriage.
For the uninitiated, Manoj and Shabana got married in 2006 after dating each other for over eight years. The couple embraced parenthood in 2011 when they welcomed a baby girl in their lives, whom they named, Ava Nayla. Talking about Manoj Bajpayee's wife, Shabana Raza's profession, she is a former film actress, who had worked in films like Kareeb, Hogi Pyaar Ki Jeet, Fiza, Rahul, and Aatma. As of now, she works as a film producer and guides her husband, Manoj, in deciding on scripts.
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According to a report in AajTak, Manoj Bajpayee got married when he was in his hometown, Belwa, Bihar. It was an arranged marriage which was finalised by his parents, Radhakant Bajpai and Geeta Devi. After getting married, Manoj went to Mumbai to try his luck in acting. Like most of the aspiring actors, who come to Mumbai with dreams and aspirations, Manoj also suffered a series of rejections. While he was struggling to make ends meet, he never let rejections harm his commitment of becoming an actor.
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During that tough phase, cracks started appearing in Manoj Bajpayee's married life and the financial scarcity reportedly paved the way for their divorce. The actor never opened up about the same and kept his first wife's identity and background a secret. It was indeed a hard phase for the actor, but he continued working towards his dream. Finally, he got the reward for his sheer determination in 1994, when he made his acting debut in 1994 with the film, Drohkaal, which was directed by Govind Nihalani.
It was just a one-minute role but was enough to grab the attention of Shekhar Kapur, who gave Manoj Bajpayee a small role in his film, Bandit Queen. After four years of his debut in the film industry, Manoj was signed by Ram Gopal Varma to play the role of 'Bhiku Mhatre' in his film, Satya, and the rest is history that keeps on getting bigger and bigger with each passing year.
What are your thoughts on Manoj Bajpayee's first marriage, which possibly crashed due to the financial crisis? Let us know.
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