We are middle class, we don’t need reference, says Manoj Bajpayee about his role Shrikant Tiwari in The Family Man

The National Award-winning actor Manoj Bajpayee opened up about his hit role in the popular Amazon Prime Video series The Family Man. According to the actor, he didn’t need any reference to play Srikant Tiwari. All he had to do was look at his own life and people around, according to him.

Known for movies like Satya and Gangs of Wasseypur, Bajpayee has already laid a strong foundation for the series. His role as an intelligence officer in The Family Man made him even more popular with countrywide acclaim. The character who tries to balance his personal and professional lives was a resemblance of most of the middle-class everyday lives.

The actor was speaking during the panel discussion titled ‘Creating Cult Icons: India’s own James Bond (007) with The Family Man’ at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The meeting also had his co-actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu and show creators Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK. The actor reportedly also said that he had to look within and the lives around him, including his brothers and neighbours, to prepare for the character.

“All of them are Srikant Tiwari”, said the actor as quoted by Republic World. The character who travels by train every day to the office, and returns home at five o’clock, is not a new face to anyone who hails from the working class. It seems like leading a middle-class life has helped him more in playingTiwari.

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He is also of the opinion that the characters he undertakes, have to represent and relate to a massive population, with similar experiences. Be it any role, the actor said he does not try to make it larger than life, rather he leaves it to the audiences.