Veteran Indian Actor Manoj Bajpayee Talks ‘Silence 2’ & Focusing On His Craft Amid The Streaming Wars: “I Don’t Look At Things In Terms Of Dollars”
Veteran Indian actor Manoj Bajpayee had to get his head around plenty of jargon when starring in ZEE5 Global’s Silence sequel.
“It was enjoyable, but also very challenging,” Bajpayee told Deadline about the Silence 2 shoot. “It was difficult remembering all the forensic technical words and trying to educate myself with forensic procedures.”
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Starring Bajpayee and Prachi Desai in the lead roles, Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout is a direct-to-digital release on the ZEE5 Global streaming platform, which premiered yesterday.
After starring in the first instalment titled Silence… Can You Hear It?, Bajpayee returned for Silence 2, where he plays leading investigator ACP Avinash Verma, tasked with analyzing a mass shootout that takes place in a Mumbai night club. Layers begin to peel, however, as something bigger, deeper and darker appears at play.
Bajpayee has starred in more than 100 movies and TV shows, winning numerous awards. Past credits include Gangs of Wasseypur, Satya and Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, the latter of which was a legal drama for ZEE5 Global.
According to ZEE5, Silence 2 taps into the success of suspense thrillers that have been extremely popular on its platform in the U.S. market of late, including the likes of Silence, Dial 100 and Bajpayee-starrer Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai. In November 2023, the streaming platform struck a series of deals to carry several smaller Indian streamers in the U.S. on its service in a bid to become the top aggregator for South Asian content in the states.
But as the streaming industry is pulled in different directions by the pressure to deliver profit while also keeping hold of fickle subscriber bases, Bajpayee said he remains unmoved as an actor.
Instead, he added that he chooses to focus on craft.
“I don’t look at things in terms of dollars, views, likes and subscriptions. I am a firm believer in destiny,” Bajpayee said.
“I’m too passionate about this craft called acting,” he added. “I just love building and making the characters. I’m trying to find new things all the time. If you give me a second take, it will never be the same. I try to add a few things and subtract certain things. When I’m surprising myself in front of the camera, that is the most joyous thing for me. This is something that helped me survive for this long.”
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