Satya is up for re-release on Jan 17. Despatch is his last film. Both, 26 years apart, dive into this city as a crime scene. Thought must reconnect with Bombay’s adopted but very own Bajpayee

Manoj Bajpayee as Bhikhu Mhatre in Satya (1998)

Back in Bettiah, Bihar, while growing up, actor Manoj Bajpayee knew of a small-time gangster, a Jeetendra fan, who would ride around on a Rajdoot (motorcycle). This bloke was fond of “free-flowing, bobby-print” (polka-dotted) shirts, with white trousers, white shoes.

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That’s what Manoj felt Bhikhu Mhatre must wear in Ram Gopal Varma/Ramu’s Satya (1998). Given that Manoj was also the (uncredited) costume designer for his character, that he’d been mentally/physically preparing for six months before shoot.

With around Rs 25,000 for costume budget; in his regular shirt, jeans, Manoj “barged into a shop in Parle.” His adopted swagger was already real.

He was oblivious of a girl walking out the same door. She interjected, “Excuse me?” He casually stared back. She instantly freaked, and rushed out. “I was so Bhikhu Mhatre in my head,” Manoj recalls. This was in the late ’90s, of course.

As a movie critic, I’m so tired of having to name my “favourite film” that I don’t give it fresh........

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