21 Movies Missed By Manoj Bajpayee In His Career

In the past 27 years, the well-known actor Manoj Bajpayee has gained a lot of recognition and is still reaching new heights each day. Since his debut film Drohkaal in 1994 till today, the actor has grown a lot. Manoj Bajpayee is the recipient of three National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards and two Asia Pacific Awards. He is also the recipient of India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, to contribute to art.

But do you know, apart from his known 63 (approx.) movies, he was also cast in other well-known movies too, but we couldn’t see him in them. Here is a list of the movies which were missed by the actor in his career:

1. Dangal (2016)

Manoj was offered the role of Geeta’s coach at the National Institute of Sports. But he rejected it since he didn’t want people to see him in a negative role.

2. Luck (2009)

He declined to play the role of Raghav. Later the role was given to Ravi Kishan.

3. Devdas (2002)

Manoj was offered to play the role of Chunni babu in the film, but he rejected it since he didn’t want to get casted for a supporting role. Later the role was given to Jackie Shroff.

4. Thakshak (1999)

Since he was shooting for the film Satya, director Ram Gopal asked Manoj to reject the film.

5. Masaan (2015)

Both Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao were approached for the movie, but the dates didn’t work out.

6. Paan Singh Tomar (2010)

Manoj wanted to get casted for the film, but the director preferred Irfan Khan over him.

7. Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001)

Was cast for the film, but a quarrel between him and Ram Gopal Verma stopped him from signing for the film.

8. Paanch (2003)

A quarrel between director Anurag Kashyap and Manoj Bajpayee regarding the film Satya led Anurag to replace him with Kay Kay Menon.

9. Rang De Basanti (2006)

When the original producers backed out, the movie was stalled. Later he was replaced by Aamir Khan.

10. The Forest (2016)

He did sign up for the movie but was later replaced by Javed Jeffery.

11. Omkara (2006)

Manoj was quite desperate to act in the movie but was later replaced by Saif Ali Khan due to some financial reasons faced by director Vishal Bhardwaj.

12. Extraction (2020)

Was rumoured to be replaced by Pankaj Tripathi since the director felt that Randeep’s character was more focused than him.

13. Water (2005)

Sources say that he was offered to act for the lead role, but he rejected it.

15. Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (2007)

Manoj was cast for the role of Tambe but was later replaced by Sushant Singh.

16. Ek Se Badhkar Ek (2004)

Manoj Bajpayee was offered to play the role of Anand Mathur but was not much satisfied with the payment, so he rejected the film. The role was later given to Shekhar Suman.

17. Tezz (2012)

He was offered a small role in the film but rejected it since he didn’t want to play a minor role. Later he was replaced by Booman Irani.

18. Bhoot (2003)

Was rumoured to be cast for the lead role in the film, but due to an argument with director Ram Gopal Verma, he was replaced by Ajay Devgn.

19. Jazbaa (2015)

Manoj was cast for the role of Abbas Yusuf, but later got replaced by Abhimanyu Singh.

20. Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (2001)

Was preferred to play the role of Prakash, but was later replaced by Saif Ali Khan after an argument with director Ram Gopal Verma.

21. Darna Mana Hai (2003)

Initially, Manoj was offered the role but was later replaced by Sanjay Kapoor in one of the stories that featured Shilpa Shetty and Rajpal Yadav.

Apart from rejecting these movies, Manoj Bajpayee acted in a few more movies that were never released. Here is a list of the movies which were kept shelved:

1. Dharti

The film featured Manoj Bajpayee and Rani Mukherjee. Unfortunately, the 1999 film was never released.

2. Panchhi

The 2001 shelved film featured Manoj Bajpayee, Shamita Shetty, Mahima Chaudhry, Ehsan Khan and many more actors.

3. Barf

The 2000-2001 film was directed by Vishal Bhardwaj under Ajay Devgn Productions. The film also featured prominent actress Sushmita Sen. However, the film was never released and is still shelved.

4. Maati

The unreleased film Maati by Neeraj Pathak featured actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Fardeen Khan and Mahima Chaudhary.

5. Syah – A Walk On The Dark Side

The film Syah featured Bipasha Basu too, but unfortunately, it was never released.

6. Netwa

The film featured Manoj Bajpayee alongside his wife. Yet, the movie was never released.

7. All Alone

All Alone was an Indo-French film. The cast included Miss World 1997 Diana Hayden, Nigar Khan and Bikram Saluja. Due to some problem with the producer, the film was never released.

8. Azaadi

The film was basically the remake of the shelved film ‘Sam, I am which also featured Sushmita Sen. But when the director of Azaadi found out that Harry Baweja was also trying for a remake a film with Sushmita Sen itself, the movie got shelved.

9. Surkh – The Bloody Battle

Surkh starred Manoj and Bipasha Basu too, but was never released.

10. Ek Anokha Prem Kahani

The film starred Manoj Bajpayee and Kareena Kapoor. Later Manoj was replaced by Sanjay Dutt. Ill-fatedly, the film got shelved.

11. Indigo

Indigo was a 2002 Indo-Canadian movie starring Sarah Polley. However, the film got shelved and was never released to date.

12. Bitter Rain

The film featuring Manoj Bajpayee also got shelved.