In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, Manoj Bajpayee discussed the insider vs. outsider debate in the film industry, admitting that he had never considered it in that way.

Manoj Bajpayee on insider vs. outsider in the film industry

During the Pinkvilla’s Masterclass fan segment, Manoj Bajpayee was asked for tips on surviving as an outsider in the film industry, where they are up against insiders as well. In reply, he stated: “Sometimes I feel very limited in answering these kinds of questions because maine aisa kabhi socha hi nahi (I never thought like this).”

The actor continued: “Mujhe hamesha lagta raha ki I have to be so good ki jis din mujhe ek mauka mila toh mai usse chakka marunga. Itna badhiya hona hai mujhe apne kaam mein. Mujhe bahut behetreen hona hai taaki jab mujhe woh opportunity mile toh usko main aur kaam mein convert kar paun. (I always felt like I had to be so good that the day I got an opportunity, I’d hit it out of the park. I need to be excellent at my work. I want to be very exceptional so that when that opportunity comes my way, I can convert it into even more work).”

Speaking to the crowd, he asked, “Yeh insider-outsider sochna bandh kar do (Stop thinking about insider-outsider) because you’re not helping yourself. Sometimes what happens is that it becomes an excuse.” Additionally, Bajpayee said, “Humko bhagwan ne ek sapna diya hai now I have to chase that dream. Woh chase karne ke liye humko roz apne upar mehnat karni hai (God has given us a dream; now I have to chase that dream. To chase it, I have to work hard on myself every day).”

Manoj Bajpayee gives an analogy about doing hard work to reach your destination

The Family Man actor continued to clarify the same point using an analogy, saying, “Abhi agar aapko apne mukaam tak pahunchne ke liye 5 nadi paar karni hai, woh 5 nadi toh paar karni hi padegi aapko. Hum yeh nahi soch sakte ki woh kitna lucky hai jo 5th nadi ke uss paar hai, ki woh wahin se pahunch jaega apne mukaam pe (If you have to cross five rivers to reach your destination, then you must cross those five rivers. We can’t think about how lucky someone is to be on the other side of the fifth river, that they will reach their destination from there).”

Furthermore, he mentioned, “I was born on this side of this river. So I can’t be thinking about the person who was not born on this side of the river. God wants me to cross these five rivers and then reach there.”

Bajpayee concluded by saying, “Toh iss baare me sochna bandh kar dijiye (So stop thinking about this), because if you constantly think about it, then it will turn into an excuse. I don’t think anyone should have an excuse ki yaar kyunki aap bahar se aaye ho isliye aapko dikkat hai (that because you are an outsider, you have a problem). Dikkat hai woh toh aap Mumbai aane ke pehle jaante the ki woh dikkat hai (You already knew there’d be a problem before coming to Mumbai). I have to be so good at whatever I do that I can easily convert one opportunity into many.”