Renowned Indian actor Manoj Bajpayee has revealed how sharing a college room with Kenyan roommates played a pivotal role in shaping his acting career.
The 54-year-old actor, in a recent interview with the BBC Hindu, stated that a kind gesture from his Kenyan roommates who were his first English teachers opened more doors for him in his career life years after they parted ways.
After travelling from his native village home to New Delhi for college studies, Bajpayee experienced a profound shift in perspective.
Within three months of admission, he realised that English was predominantly spoken by the Indian elite, which further diminished his self-esteem as he distanced himself from Hindi- and Bhojpuri-speaking students.
His passion and determination never waned, driving him to overcome this societal barrier. Despite the initial challenges, he found himself forging friendships with his Kenyan roommates, who, despite not fully grasping the significance of the language to him, were more open and willing.
Initially, he communicated in short, broken English. However, with time, his fluency in the language began to take shape.
"We spoke in broken English but slowly started catching up. People I lived with would ask me to speak a few lines in English and then they would laugh at my accent, but I kept marching ahead. With time, my English got better," he narrated.
Immediately after he finished college he embarked on a full acting career, working in Several Hindu and English films.
He would later go ahead to win three National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards, and two Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Now a fluent English speaker, the Indian actor can not only act and recite movie scenes but also engage in conversations and interviews in English.
Although he has since parted ways with his roommates, over three decades later, the actor still reminisces about how he learned the language and how it profoundly influenced his career.
Bajpayee did not disclose if he is still in contact with his first English teachers though.
