Manoj Bajpayee Makes His Web Series Debut With 'The Family Man'
THE WEEK|September 22, 2019
As he completes 25 years in films, Manoj Bajpayee makes his web series debut with The Family Man
Priyanka Bhadani
Manoj Bajpayee Makes His Web Series Debut With 'The Family Man'

As he waits by the staircase of a building while his teammates sweep it for a terror suspect, secret agent Srikant Tiwari gets a call from his wife. She is angry at him for cutting off their conversation mid-way the previous night to attend to an urgent work call. She thinks he is a regular government employee with a desk job. As for Tiwari, he is determined to be committed both to his family and his country.

While he is on the phone with his wife, the terror suspect shoots past him. Tiwari gives chase but is unable to catch up. He tries to flag down passing vehicles; he is not in uniform so no one stops. Finally, a lady on a scooter halts when he tells her that the man is running offwith his wife’s mangalsutra. It is a humorous scene and Manoj Bajpayee as Tiwari in Amazon Prime Video’s new 10-episode series, The Family Man, is funny even while he essays a serious character. Like his role as an insurance salesman-cum-serial killer in Ram Gopal Varma’s Kaun (1999), to which he brought a certain comical undertone. But then, he was the villain in that one while he is the hero in his latest.

The jokes work at every instance. Bajpayee’s performance has freshness, even though he has played intelligence agents and cops a couple of times before. Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru, the creators of the show, realised that he had not done anything that had a humorous undertone. They were not sure of his response when they showed him the script. But within 20 minutes of going through it, Bajpayee said yes. “And then he internalised the character so well that it was difficult to separate Manoj from Tiwari during the shoot,” says D.K. He feels that Bajpayee coming from the same middle-class milieu as Tiwari helped them convince him.

“He got the graph of the character,” says Nidimoru. “He understood his dilemma and the politics that we were referring to.”

Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin September 22, 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye THE WEEK dergisinin September 22, 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

THE WEEK DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
William Dalrymple goes further back
THE WEEK India

William Dalrymple goes further back

Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.

time-read
3 dak  |
November 17, 2024
The bleat from the street
THE WEEK India

The bleat from the street

What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.

time-read
2 dak  |
November 17, 2024
Courage and conviction
THE WEEK India

Courage and conviction

Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case

time-read
2 dak  |
November 17, 2024
EPIC ENTERPRISE
THE WEEK India

EPIC ENTERPRISE

Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus

time-read
4 dak  |
November 17, 2024
Upgrade your jeans
THE WEEK India

Upgrade your jeans

If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.

time-read
2 dak  |
November 17, 2024
Garden by the sea
THE WEEK India

Garden by the sea

When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus

time-read
4 dak  |
November 17, 2024
RECRUITERS SPEAK
THE WEEK India

RECRUITERS SPEAK

Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates

time-read
3 dak  |
November 17, 2024
MORAL COMPASS
THE WEEK India

MORAL COMPASS

The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape

time-read
5 dak  |
November 17, 2024
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
THE WEEK India

B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH

INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode

time-read
3 dak  |
November 17, 2024
COURSE CORRECTION
THE WEEK India

COURSE CORRECTION

India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI

time-read
8 dak  |
November 17, 2024