Manoj Bajpayee reveals how he got Yash Chopra's Veer Zaara: 'He said I don’t make films for actors like you..'

Manoj Bajpayee, who was recently seen in Gulmohar with Sharmila Tagore, has talked about collaborating with Yash Chopra in Veer Zaara back in 2004. He said that he agreed to do a small role in the film because he wanted to work with the legendary director. Manoj also said that it was a great opportunity to 'catch up' with Shah Rukh. The actor was seen playing the role of Zaara's (Preity Zinta) partner. 

'I enjoyed every moment of shooting with Yash Chopra'

While speaking to Humans of Bombay, Manoj Bajpayee opened up about his experience of working on Veer Zaara. He recalled how Yash Chopra called him to offer the role. He said, "No offence to him (Shah Rukh), but I did this film because Mr Yash Chopra called me up and requested me to be a part of it. He was a big fan of my performance in Pinjar and once he saw the film in Delhi with Lal Krishna Advani ji, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, he was thoroughly impressed with my performance. That’s when he thought of offering me this role."

Manoj added that he enjoyed 'every moment of shooting' with Yash Chopra. He shared, "It was a guest appearance; I was there only for four-five days. He treated me as good as anyone on the sets. I was welcomed so royally in that film family, the Veer Zaara family. I enjoyed every moment of shooting with Yash Chopra ji."

The Family Man actor also spoke about his friendship with SRK. They have known each other as they did theatre together. Manoj said, "Shah Rukh, I have known for many years from my days in Delhi, so it was also a chance to catch up. Because we don’t meet up, we belong to two different kinds of films and filmmaking. So, it was a chance to catch up with him and also enjoy being on the sets of Mr Yash Chopra, who had been such a magnificent, successful mainstream director for so many years. We grew up watching his films! We used to chat for long, both Yash ji and me. He was very clear in telling me, ‘I don’t make films for an actor like you, so I don’t think I would have anything else in the future, but this is very good and it will be great if you agree to do it.’ He was such a humble man."

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