Gulshan was murdered 5 days after we began shooting: Manoj

The producer got scared: Manoj

That uncertainty was very depressing: Manoj

The murder of Music Producer Gulshan Kumar in 1997 had shocked the entire nation. While the nation was grappling with the influence of the notorious underworld mafia in all aspects of life, Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee had his own set of concerns. “When I got Satya, I didn’t tell anybody. Not even my roommate and friends in Mumbai. I was always paranoid that the movie might get cancelled, which is what briefly happened. Gulshan Kumar was murdered five days after we began shooting. The film was halted because the producer got scared. Gulshan Kumar’s murder was a huge incident in the industry, and we were making a movie about the Mumbai mafia. The producer got so scared, he shut it down. Our careers, which were just about to begin, were brought to an abrupt halt,” Manoj said in an interaction with Sushant Sinha that was posted on his YouTube channel. 

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Satya established Manoj’s status in Bollywood as an artist with immense potential. Manoj played the role of Bhiku Mhatre in the film. The crime drama was directed by Ram Gopal Verma. “After about a week, Ram Gopal Varma found Bharat Shah (financer). And then filming began again. We gave Satya our all. That one week was very difficult for us all. None of us had any idea what to do. Satya was our only hope. That uncertainty was very depressing and frustrating. I had decided that I would not lose hope until Ram Gopal Varma says, ‘It’s over. This film won’t be made now.’ But he never said that, he would only say that we’re pausing temporarily. After eight days, we got the good news that we are restarting the film,” Manoj added.