I'm a realist, don't get swayed by success: Manoj Bajpayee

NEW DELHI: As somebody who has seen several ups and downs in his close to a three-decade-long career in the entertainment industry, actor Manoj Bajpayee says he has learned to not let his professional achievements or failures define him as an artiste.

The 52-year-old actor, who has received praise for the second season of his web series "The Family Man", said he tries to make career choices that offer him as well as his audience a "unique" experience.

"It's been 26 years in the industry and I have been through so many emotions, excitement, success, and failures. All this has just become a part of my life. They don't define my craft or me as an actor or person. I'm a realist and don't get swayed by success or depressed by failures," Bajpayee told PTI.

An Amazon Prime Video show, "The Family Man" first premiered in 2019 and marked the critically-acclaimed actor's successful foray into digital space.

The show is an addition to Bajpayee's ever-growing list of memorable performances, which includes films like "Satya", "Shool", "Gangs of Wasseypur" franchise, "Special 26", "Aligarh" and "Bhonsle".

His portrayal of a middle-aged investigation agent Srikant Tiwari in the action-drama series, created by filmmaker duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, has raised the bar of the audience's expectations from him, but the actor said he does not feel pressured by that.

"Audience expectations are welcome, they should expect good work from me as I also do the same from myself.

I believe in having the strict discipline and doing a good job every time I step out to work.

But I don't feel compelled by the expectations.

"When I choose a project, I always look for what new things I can offer as a performer and how I can make this whole experience unique for myself. And if I'm excited about something I'm doing, that excitement gets transferred to the audience. This is what I'm known for and people's appreciation has proved that I'm on the right path," he said.

The actor was recently honoured by the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2021 (IFFM) with the best actor award in a series for "The Family Man 2".

He said he has had a humbling experience to see his character get recognised globally.

The actor credited the show's writers for creating a memorable character in Srikant Tiwari.

"It's so amazing that a series which started in 2019 is still going and creating so much buzz all over the world.

It's among the four most popular shows in the world and we are getting so much honour because of this series. It's so humbling," he added.

Bajpayee, who was recently seen in ZEE5 thriller "Dial 100", said he is currently in the middle of rehearsals for a project and will soon leave for Kerala for shooting.

"I will be shooting back-to-back projects till July next year. I've to finish my pending commitments and then only I will sign new projects," he said.