Recently, Manoj Bajpayee opened up about his equation with Shah Rukh Khan when they were training together. He said SRK always wanted to be the centre of attention, while Manoj's goals were different.
Manoj Bajpayee and Shah Rukh Khan may not be close friends, but their connection actually goes back years. For the unversed, the duo trained together under acting coach, Barry John in New Delhi. However, Manoj has always been vocal about the fact that they weren't friends and didn't spend much time together. Recently, the actor elaborated on the reasons for them being in different circles, stating that his background and life goals were vastly different compared to the Jawan star.
Actor, Manoj Bajpayee recently sat for a candid chat with Barkha Dutt on Mojo Story, during which he discussed his training period alongside Shah Rukh Khan under acting coach, Barry John. According to the Rajneeti star, they ran in different circles despite starting out together because Shah Rukh had always loved being the centre of attention. Manoj, on the other hand, didn't mind being a 'fly on the wall.' In his words:
"Shah Rukh Khan always wanted to be loved, to be a star, to be the centre of attention. That was not my target. I was completely okay with not being surrounded by 20 people in my theatre group. I was completely okay with nobody looking at me. I was completely okay with being a fly on the wall."
During the conversation, Manoj Bajpayee was also asked if he was upset about the heights Shah Rukh Khan had reached despite them starting from the same place. However, the actor denied the same, stating that confidence was affected by failure and not someone else's popularity.
The Family Man actor further opened up about the relationship he shared with Shah Rukh, admitting that they weren't quite friends. Talking about whether they were contemporaries or not, Manoj said:
"We knew each other, but our friend circle wasn't the same. People have to understand, we come from different worlds. People ask why we do not meet, and I tell them, 'We can't meet'. Even back then, he belonged to a 'khas duniya'. Just because one studies in Jamia doesn't make them a regular person. I wasn't surrounded by 10 people at all times. Shah Rukh was always a charming guy, he was always surrounded by people."
Manoj Bajpayee also fondly recalled the man responsible for training him and Shah Rukh Khan in acting, Barry John. The actor was all praises for the coach as he never judged the former for being unable to speak English back then. Instead, Barry would always empower him and throw challenges his way so he could improve his skills. Manoj recalled:
"Many times, he would throw this challenge at me, whenever he was doing an English play with Divya (Seth) or Rituraj (Singh) or Shah Rukh, he'd give me a small role."
Speaking about Shah Rukh and Manoj's career trajectories, the former has established himself as the pinnacle of the Hindi film industry for nearly three decades. Manoj's success, on the other hand, would come in bursts here and there. He got his big break with Ram Gopal Varma's Satya and went on to enjoy streaming stardom with The Family Man. Manoj is currently entertaining viewers through his performance in Kanu Behl's Despatch.
What do you think about Manoj Bajpayee's revelations?
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