Manoj Bajpayee REVEALS His First Film Salary And How It Tripled In Six Years: 'It Was 50,000 For Bandit Queen'

Actor Manoj Bajpayee, whose latest film Bhaiyya Ji is now showing in theatres, recently discussed his early days in the film industry and shared how much he earned for his first film role. Bajpayee made his debut in Shekhar Kapur’s dacoit drama Bandit Queen in 1994, playing a supporting role. That same year, he also appeared in the film Drohkal.

During an interview with Mashable Middle East, Bajpayee recounted receiving his first paycheck. While preparing aalo bhujiya in Chef Ranveer Brar’s restaurant kitchen, he revealed, “It was Rs 50,000 for Bandit Queen. After six years, I did a film, I am not going to name it, but I got Rs 1,50,000.”

Since his debut in the 90s, the actor’s career has seen steady growth. Bajpayee became a household name after his breakout role as a gangster in Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya in 1998. However, before gaining widespread recognition, he faced considerable challenges in his career.

Bajpayee previously shared an anecdote about how his fee from a TV show directed by Anubhav Sinha was halved by the producer, who argued that, as a mute character without dialogues, he didn’t merit the full payment of Rs 4,000 per day. Bajpayee recalled that back then, they would queue up to receive Rs 100 for conveyance at the end of each shoot day, a considerable sum at the time.

After four months, when Bajpayee went to collect his fee, the producer questioned the Rs 4,000 payment, stating, “I said you people only fixed it. He said I should only get Rs 2,000. I asked why? He said that payment is for dialogues, where are your dialogues? Anubhav never told me you have no dialogues,” he shared in an interview with The Lallantop.

In another interview a month back, Manoj Bajpayee boldly spoke about cinema and its connection to revolution. He said cinema alone can’t bring about a revolution, but can be a tool to kickstart movements. “Cinema can be a mirror of our time. Cinema can’t start movements. It can be part of the movement. Cinema can’t do anything alone. Every ruler has used cinema or art in their own way,” Manoj Bajpayee said.

Manoj Bajpayee’s latest film Bhaiyya Ji released today. The film is directed by Apoorv Singh Karki. The duo previously worked on the film Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, which premiered on Zee 5.