Manoj Bajpayee: The Renaissance Man

If the OTT boom has paved the way for the emergence of Manoj Bajpayee 3.0, he has played a crucial part in making content-driven cinema mainstream as well as in the evolution of the ‘leading man’. Today a Shrikant Tiwari can exist because Bhiku Mhatre happened. This is the story of a misfit, a rank outsider, a stubborn and angry young actor, who conquered and changed Bollywood, one movie at a time

- ANANYA GHOSH

Mumbai ka king kaun? ... Bhiku Mhatre!

It has been 25 years since Bhiku Mhatre AKA Manoj Bajpayee announced his robust arrival in the city from a cliff top and made the nation sit up and take notice. It seemed Hindi cinema had got a new ‘king’ in this lanky and rather ordinary-looking young man. But later that year, Shah Rukh Khan’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai released and the dimpled hero reinforced his reign.

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