Manoj Bajpayee rejected the role of Chunnilal in Devdas.
New Delhi:
Gangs of Wasseypur actor Manoj Bajpayee recently said in an interview with Sushant Sinha that he was offered the role of Chunnilal. But he rejected it. Now, 22 years after the film’s release, the actor says he was meant to play Devdas. In fact, when asked if he had ever rejected a film that turned out to be a big hit, he said that he was offered the role of Chunnilal played by Jackie Shroff in Devdas.
The actor said, Yes, I was offered the role of Jackie Shroff in Devdas and I turned it down immediately. I told Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sanjay man, I always wanted to do Devdas. The film turned out to be a superhit and I regret letting it go. I wanted to play the role of Devdas since my theater days. Since then I used to watch Dilip Kumar’s films and read his books. But I didn’t feel bad.
Earlier in an interview given to Bollywood Bubble, Manoj Bajpayee said that it was Shah Rukh who took him to a disco for the first time. The actor said- ‘He was the only person who used to come in a Maruti van. I still remember the red colored Maruti Van in those days. He was the one who took me to the Taj disco in Delhi for the first time. I mean, we were very young, right out of our teenage years, and we met. He was part of Barry John’s group for a while.
It may be noted that Manoj Bajpayee’s Bhaiya Ji has recently released, which is slowly doing well at the box office. However, the film is still far from a budget collection.