Mumbai, October 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Actor Akshay Oberoi has credited veteran actor Manoj Bajpayee as a major influence on his career, saying the National Award winner’s choice of meaningful roles has shaped his own professional decisions.
Akshay, who shares screen space with Bajpayee in the upcoming project Gajab Raat, said he had admired the acclaimed actor since childhood and looked up to his approach to selecting characters and stories.
“Manoj Bajpayee sir has been an idol for me since childhood. I have grown up watching his performances, and in many ways, I have based my own career decisions on actors like him, who have consistently chosen substance over convention and let their work speak for itself,” Akshay said.
He added that Bajpayee had demonstrated how actors could build meaningful careers by trusting their choices rather than following conventional paths.
For Akshay, working alongside an actor whose performances had influenced his own journey was both exciting and humbling. He praised Bajpayee’s depth, honesty and unpredictability, saying their face-off in Gajab Raat pushed him to explore a different energy in his performance.
The project also gives Akshay an opportunity to move beyond familiar territory by playing a character with shades of grey. He said such roles require an actor to look beyond appearances and understand the motivations behind a character’s decisions.
Akshay also spoke about collaborating with producer Neeraj Pandey, describing his approach to storytelling and character development as distinctive. He said the project had allowed him to explore a different side of his acting and expressed hope that audiences would appreciate this new dimension of his performance.
FOLLOW NOW
