Manoj Bajpayee Says He Is A 'Desi Actor', Urges Filmmakers To Focus On Stories Of Soil

Manoj Bajpayee is currently gearing up for his film title Bhaiyya Ji. The film will release on May 24. Ahead of the film's release, the actor spoke to PTI and revealed which label he would like to give himself.

Manoj Bajpayee on considering himself as a desi actor

When it comes to labels like superstar or action star, Manoj Bajpayee said he considers himself a "desi actor". "I am definitely a desi actor... I desire our culture, villages and the story of our soil should come in the mainstream cinema. Our heroes should look like us, not from some western country. We need to make good films with good stories and that need to be rooted in our culture," he added.

Manoj Bajpayee drew inspiration from Amitabh Bachchan for Bhaiyya Ji

Manoj Bajpayee says he drew inspiration from the mega star Amitabh Bachchan as well as his contemporaries Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna to play a massy hero in his upcoming film Bhaiyya Ji. The revenge action film is directed by Apoorva Singh Karki, who earlier directed the actor in the critically-acclaimed movie Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai.

In the movie, the actor is playing the titular role, a man out to avenge his brother's death. "I grew up watching commercial films and all the big stars of that time, they were all my inspiration, be it Shatru ji , Vinod Khanna ji, Amit ji or Jeetendra Sahab and all of them. It happened subconsciously. I knew that I had to do certain things to make him look attractive on screen. So that everyone would like to be a figure like Bhaiyya Ji," he said. Meanwhile, the film marks Manoj Bajpyee's 100th outing in the Indian cinema.