Manoj Bajpayee used to smoke with Shah Rukh Khan when he was not in a position to afford cigarettes, saying – ‘Even if there is money…’

New Delhi. You must have often heard from your elders that one should never forget one’s past, no matter how high one reaches. From Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Shahrukh Khan to Manoj Bajpayee, you must have heard many stars reminiscing about the old days. Do you know that Bollywood’s ‘King Khan’ i.e. Shahrukh Khan and OTT star Manoj Bajpayee also started their acting career together. But, some tasted success first, while some took some time. Both of them are worth crores today, but there was a time when neither of them had the money to buy two cigarettes at a time.

Manoj Bajpayee recalls his time with Shah Rukh Khan. Both were part of Barry John’s theater group in Delhi. At that time, both Manoj and Shah Rukh were trying to establish themselves as actors and were struggling with lack of money. Manoj Bajpayee recently shared how both of them used to smoke the same cigarette during their theater days.

Why did Shahrukh and Manoj smoke the same cigarette?
Speaking to Galatta India, Manoj Bajpayee said, ‘When you are in a theater group and someone is smoking a cigarette, no one will ever smoke a cigarette alone. Because no one can bear its cost alone. So if someone has one cigarette, he has to share it with four people. He continued, ‘Even if he has money to buy a pack of cigarettes or buy a single cigarette, he cannot buy it alone because others have shared it with him in the past and now it is his turn to share.’

Shagrukh-Manoj were in Barry John’s theater group
Manoj said that while he was with Barry John’s theater group for a few years, Shah Rukh was part of it for a few months before he came to Mumbai and started his Bollywood career. Manoj said that he came to Mumbai only after working in Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Bandit Queen’.

Went to a night club for the first time with Shah Rukh Khan
Manoj Bajpayee recalled his first night club trip in an old interview. He said, ‘Shah Rukh was with Barry, I was also with Barry. There were a lot of friends there that night, I’m still in touch with them, still very good friends. Shahrukh’s life has been separated from us. I still remember looking for shoes to go to the discotheque, because I was in slippers. He said that Shah Rukh was the only person who used to come in a Maruti van. It was a red maruti van in those days, I still remember.

Tags: Manoj Bajpayee, Shah Rukh Khan