Manoj Bajpayee

Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. He is the recipient of numerous accolades including three National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards, and two Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In 2019, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, for his contributions to art.

Born in Belwa, a small village near the city of Bettiah in West Champaran district Bihar, Bajpayee aspired to become an actor since childhood. He relocated to Delhi at the age of seventeen, and applied for the National School of Drama, only to be rejected four times. He continued to do theatre while studying in college. Bajpayee made his feature film debut with a one-minute role in ''Drohkaal'' (1994) and a minor role as a dacoit in Shekhar Kapur's ''Bandit Queen'' (1994). After a few unnoticed roles, he played the gangster Bhiku Mhatre in Ram Gopal Varma's 1998 crime drama ''Satya'', which proved to be a breakthrough. Bajpayee received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for the film. He then acted in films such as ''Kaun?'' (1999) and ''Shool'' (1999). For the latter, he won his second Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.

Bajpayee won the Special Jury National Award for ''Pinjar'' (2003). This was followed by a series of brief, unnoticed roles in films that failed to propel his career forward. He then played a greedy politician in the political thriller ''Raajneeti'' (2010), which was highly appreciated. In 2012, Bajpayee played the critically acclaimed lead character ''Sardar Khan'' in ''Gangs of Wasseypur''. His next roles were as a Naxalite in ''Chakravyuh'' (2012), and a CBI officer in ''Special 26'' (2013). In 2016, he portrayed Professor Ramchandra Siras, in Hansal Mehta's biographical drama ''Aligarh'', for which he won his third Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor and the Best Actor Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2016. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor at the 67th National Film Awards for his performance in the film ''Bhonsle''. He also won Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actor, for ''The Family Man'' (2021). He also won Movified best actor award for Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai. Provided by Wikipedia