Did Manoj Bajpayee Take A Sly Dig At Rashmika Mandanna's 'National Crush' Tag? Criticising PR Culture Actor Says 'It's Humiliating For Trained Actors'

Manoj Bajpayee, who is basking in the success of his recently released Inspector Zende, shared his opinion on PR being used for contemporary actors in Bollywood. He called the pattern of naming anyone 'Best Actor' or 'National Crush' by PR "humiliating" for actors like him, who are professionally trained. Using the tag 'National Crush', it seems the actor is taking a dig at Rashmika Mandanna's PR team, as she is referred to by this tag by her fans.

Manoj Bajpayee takes a sly dig at the PR team of contemporary actors in Bollywood

In an interview on the Humans of Cinema, he expressed his disappointment over the misconception of acting. “Acting ko leke jitni fallacy ab badhi hai na, voh irritating bhi hai, annoying bhi hai, and also, humiliating hai," he said. He further pointed at Piyush Mishra and said, “It is humiliating for him who has been trained as an actor and has been acting for so many years. It is humiliating for me, who has been giving everything to this craft, and suddenly jo hai, agle din aap padhte ho ‘best actor’. Suddenly ek #BestActor aa jaata hai, phir chaar mahine baad another #BestActor aata hai #NationalCrush. You know, the whole culture has changed."

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Soon after the video was uploaded, the Reddit users speculated that he was taking a sly dig at Rashmika's PR team, as she is widely known as National Crush. A user wrote, "crushmika milks it even today." Another wrote, "Did he mean Rashmika?" A third user wrote, "National crush shit is so Sham. It's being used for anyone and everyone." A fan backed Manoj's remark and wrote, "This is valid, imagine working so hard on your craft to see the entire public buying into the PR image of an actor over his/her actual craft. This is how mediocrity thrives in this industry."

Manoj Bajpayee's recent project

Manoj's most recent project is Jugnuma - The Fable. Helmed by Raam Reddy, the movie also stars Deepak Dobriyal, Priyanka Bose and Tillotama Shome. The film made history by becoming the first Indian film to win Best Film at the 38th Leeds International Film Festival in the United Kingdom, and also won the Special Jury Award at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024. The film is currently in the theatres.

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