‘Satya was declared a flop’: Manoj Bajpayee celebrates 22 years of the film that changed his life

Manoj Bajpayee is celebrating 22 years of his career defining film, Satya. The actor shared a still from the film on Instagram and remembered the date which changed his life.

Sharing the picture of a livid Bhiku Mhatre, Manoj wrote, “And my life changed...!!! Can’t forget the 3rd July 1998 ..monsoon..it was declared a flop and how it turned out to be biggest hit ..ran for 25 weeks..!!satya!!!”

Satya was a gangster drama directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Saurabh Shukla and Anurag Kashyap. The film cemented the careers of Manoj and Anurag in Bollywood as actor and writer. Manoj went on to win his first National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Satya revolves around the life of the titular character (JD Chakravarthy), an immigrant who comes to Mumbai in search of work and becomes friends with Bhiku Mhatre (Manoj) as they are sucked into underworld. The song Sapne Mein Milti Hai featuring Manoj and Shefali Shah remains one of the most popular songs from the film. Satya also starred Urmila Matondkar, Paresh Rawal and Saurabh Shukla.

Sharing some trivia from the film, Manoj had once told Hindustan Times Brunch in an interview. “While I was preparing for the film, I had thought mine was the titular role. But as the story took shape I learned I was to play Bhikhu Mhatre and that Satya was going to someone else.” He was initially disappointed but soon realised the character was best suited to him.

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“After Satya I was flooded with offers. Producers lined my house – but they wanted me to play the villain or the heroine’s brother. Films like Satya just weren’t being made,” he added.

Manoj just saw the release of his film Bhonsle, in which plays the title role. He plays a retired cop in the film which is now streaming on Sony Liv.

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