After Satya, Bal Thackeray was ‘disappointed, baffled’ to learn Manoj Bajpayee wasn’t Marathi

3 min readMumbaiJun 20, 2026 12:45 PM IST

Manoj Bajpayee in a still from RGV's Satya.

Satya, directed by Ram Gopal Varma and released in 1998, put Manoj Bajpayee firmly on the map. The film turned him into an overnight sensation, and over the years, it has only grown in stature, with audiences revisiting it for his seminal portrayal of the gangster Bhiku Mhatre. Recently, Manoj revealed that so many people assumed he was Marathi after watching the film that even Bal Thackeray believed it.

‘Bal Thackeray was so disappointed’

“Forget about anyone, Mr Bal Thackeray thought that too,” he said in a chat with Hindustan Times. “He invited me to his place. He gave me so much respect, but he was completely baffled when he came to know that I am not from Maharashtra. And then he asked me to learn Marathi. He was so disappointed, but I had a great meeting with him. He gave me lots of blessings for the future.”

In an earlier conversation with PTI, the actor described Satya as a true “game changer” in his career. “I look at it as a game changer. It has completely changed the industry. From the way the stories were told to the craft, or the way people look at filmmaking or performances, everything was so new both for the industry and audience. After the humongous success of Satya, I started getting roles, respect and entry into big offices,” he said.

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‘I was given Rs 25,000 to style my character’

In another interview with Galatta India, Manoj also spoke about the film’s styling process and revealed that he was given a budget of Rs 25,000 to design his character’s look. “I was given Rs 25,000 to shop for my costumes. In those days, if you were not a big star you had to do it this way or the costume dada on set would do it for you, whatever the directors would tell them. They would somehow stitch clothes or choose clothes for you. But in Satya, I wanted to do it myself. I was of the opinion that I knew exactly what kind of clothes Bhiku Mhatre would wear. So I used to come to Hill Road quite often, looking for the kind of fabric and prints that would reflect him. So all the shirts, denims and vests that you see, everything was bought from here. I handpicked every single thing,” he said.

Manoj Bajpayee was last seen in the film Governor.