Manoj Bajpayee's Top 10 Performances

From Satya to Satyagraha, Manoj Bajpayee's journey in filmdom has seen enough highs and lows. He's had many brilliant performances that has proven his talent time and again.

His latest film Satyagraha has received mixed reviews and box office fate but Bajpayee's performance has found favour among everyone.

We look at 10 of his best performances through the years. 

Satyagraha (2013)

While there were no major laughs in Satyagraha, it was his ever-so-smiling face that made all the difference in the film.

He played the part of a seasoned politician naturally, and in a way we've never seen in Hindi cinema before.

As an unpredictable man who killed with his smile words, Bajpayee was brilliant in his role.

Bajpayee started the year with the well-reviewed film, Special 26, where his role was almost equal to that of Akshay Kumar.

As an honest and upright CBI officer, he was sheer fun as he came up with that depreciating laugh in the climax after being taken for a ride. 

Bajpayee's author-backed role in Anurag Kashyap's Gangs Of Wasseypur Part 1 was the best thing about the film.

He gave his gangster character a human touch, and brought in a good fusion of realism and heroism.

One film which found him as many accolades, appreciation, seetis and taalis as his earlier brilliant role in Satya was Raajneeti.

Yet again, he was playing someone with shades of grey.

As a modern day Duryodhan caught in the Mahabharata of Raajneeti, Bajpayee came up with the kind of performance that alone was worth the price of the ticket.

Bajpayee's 1971 got rave reviews all around but disappeared from the theatres quickly, thanks to iadequate promotion and marketing.

Over the years, 1971 has found its place amongst those who have closely followed Bajpayee's career closely.

As an army man, who went all out to make sure that his troop was safeguarded in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.

A performance which the actor himself counts among his best, Pinjar saw him share the screen brilliantly opposite Urmila Matondkar.

His character changed from a unsympathetic kidnapper to a kind husband, in the days of the Partition.

Bajpayee was charming in Zubeidaa, as he shared the screen with two beautiful ladies, Rekha and Karisma Kapoor.

As a prince with two wives, Bajpayee was royalty personified in the film.

Bajpayee gave a terrific performance in Kaun.

Even though the film had only three characters, it did not lose its chills and thrills.

Bajpayee played an annoying talkative stranger, but never went overboard in his acting.

It was an Ardh Satya moment for Bajpayee as he stepped into the part of a headstrong cop.

In a grim drama which had its moments of brilliance, Shool showed off the vulnerable side of the actor.

Though the film was an average success, it showed that Bajpayee had it in him to be a leading man.

This was the film that made him a star.

Manoj Bajpayee made Bhiku Matre an iconic character with his brilliant performance.

This incidentally wasn't his first film with director Ram Gopal Varma. He had appeared in the earlier Urmila Matondkar starrer, Daud.

Bajpayee was so good in the film that he earned more praise than J D Chakravarthi, the actor who played the titular character.