Manoj Bajpayee and Anurag Kashyap have been longtime collaborators, having worked as actor and director on the cult Gangs Of Wasseypur - Part 1 (2012).
Last year, amid the promotions of Bhaiyya Ji, Manoj Bajpayee addressed the rumoured rift between him and Anurag Kashyap. At the time, the actor revealed that there was a misunderstanding between him and the Gangs Of Wasseypur director and because the two never addressed that misunderstanding it became "big on social media".
Recently, Manoj Bajpayee shared that the one thing that connects him and Anurag Kashyap is anger.
"Anurag is standing because of his own conviction. He's made too many enemies in the process. He's broken glasses, he's broken his own hand in anger, he's fallen sick, but he's stuck to his guns. He can be a better example for all filmmakers. Because they're only looking at his films. But they should look at his journey and learn from him," the actor said in an interview with Bollywood Hungama.
Manoj Bajpayee added that while he shares the same anger, he tries to stay practical. "I'd say I'm far more practical than him. He's also practical, but he loses it sometimes. The day he starts answering to trolls, I realise that's the time when he will losing his balance. But again, he comes back."
Manoj Bajpayee and Anurag Kashyap's journey started back in the late '90s with Ram Gopal Varma's Satya (1998), a film on which Anurag Kashyap worked as a writer. The film saw Manoj Bajpayee in a scene-stealing turn as the flamboyant goon Bhiku Mhatre.
The duo later collaborated on Ram Gopal Varma's next films, Shool and Kaun (1999). Years later, Anurag Kashyap gave Manoj Bajpayee one of his most memorable roles in Gangs of Wasseypur: Part 1 (2012) as director and actor.
Manoj Bajpayee was last seen in Inspector Zende. The Netflix original film was released on September 5 and was directed by Chinmay Mandlekar. The movie also features Jim Sarbh, Sachin Khedekar, Girija Oak and Bhalchandra Kadam in important roles.
Anurag Kashyap, on the other hand, has a packed schedule. He is promoting Nishanchi, a two-part action comedy introducing Aishwarya Thackeray, the grandson of the late Bal Thackeray. His film Bandar, with Bobby Deol, recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).