The
Hindi
film
industry
has
faced
a
lot
of
criticism,
especially
since
the
demise
of
Sushant
Singh
Rajput,
for
differentiating
between
outsiders
and
insiders.
Manoj
Bajpayee,
who
is
one
of
the
celebrities
who
has
criticized
the
industry
for
this,
recently
opened
up
about
his
own
struggles
as
an
'outsider'
who
realized
his
dream
of
being
an
actor.
He
also
revealed
that
he
came
very
close
to
suicide
when
he
was
rejected
by
the
National
School
of
Drama.
Speaking
to
Humans
of
Bombay,
Manoj
recalled
when
he
knew
that
acting
was
his
destiny.
"I'm
a
farmer's
son
-
I
grew
up
in
a
small
village
in
Bihar
with
5
siblings,
and
we
went
to
a
hut
school
there.
We
led
a
simple
life,
but
whenever
we
went
to
the
city,
we'd
go
to
the
theatre.
I
was
a
big
Amitabh
Bachchan
fan
-
I
wanted
to
be
just
like
him.
I
was
9,
but
I
knew
that
acting
was
my
destiny,"
he
said.
He
added,
"But
I
couldn't
even
afford
to
dream,
so
I
continued
my
schooling.
But
my
mind
refused
to
focus
on
anything
but
acting,
so
at
17,
I
left
my
village
to
go
to
Delhi
University."
Manoj's
father
was
supportive
towards
his
dream.
The
actor
shared,
"There,
I
delved
into
theatre
but
my
family
had
no
idea.
Finally,
I
wrote
a
letter
to
dad
and
told
him
that
I
wanted
to
be
an
actor.
He
wasn't
angry
-
instead
he
sent
me
200
Rupees
to
cover
my
fees!
People
back
home
called
me
'bhaand'
and
'good
for
nothing'
but
I
turned
a
blind
eye."
Talking
about
his
struggles,
he
said,
"I
was
an
outsider,
trying
to
fit
in.
So
I
began
to
teach
myself
English
and
Hindi
-
Bhojpuri
was
a
big
part
of
the
Hindi
I
spoke.
I
then
applied
to
NSD,
but
was
rejected
thrice
-
I've
never
come
as
close
to
committing
suicide
as
I
did
then.
My
friends
were
scared
-
they
would
sleep
next
to
me
and
not
leave
me
alone.
They
encouraged
me
to
keep
going,
until
finally,
I
was
accepted."
Manoj
also
revealed
how
he
got
cast
in
Shekhar
Kapur's
Bandit
Queen.
"That
year,
I
was
nukkad
chai
shop
when
I
saw
my
friend
Tigmanshu
coming
on
his
khatara
scooter,
looking
for
me
-
Shekhar
Kapur
wanted
to
cast
me
in
Bandit
Queen!
Thinking
that
I
was
finally
ready,
I
moved
to
Mumbai,"
he
said.
Manoj
was
last
seen
in
the
Netflix
film,
Mrs.
Serial
Killer,
starring
Jacqueline
Fernandez
in
the
lead.