Terming ‘Satya’ a game changer in India cinema, Manoj Bajpayee says the film gave him a career and it was only after its humongous success that he “started getting roles, respect and entry into big offices”.

Directed by Ram Gopal Varma, ‘Satya’ released in theatres 25 years ago and the film is still lauded by cinema enthusiasts for its execution and treatment. It focused on the underbelly of the world of crime through the titular character essayed by J D Chakravarthy.

Bajpayee, who played the flamboyant and ambitious gangster Bhiku Mhatre in the 1998 film, said the cult classic altered storytelling style in Hindi cinema, according to a PTI report from Mumbai.

“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,” the 54-year-old actor told PTI in an interview.

‘Satya’, also starring Saurabh Shukla, Urmila Matondkar, Shefali Shah, Makarand Deshpande, Paresh Rawal, Govind Namdeo and Aditya Srivastav, hit the screens on July 3, 1998.

Unlike conventional gangster drama plots, the movie revolved around real people, warts and all, he said.

“All you see is not larger-than-life people, but people who are very real, people who you see in their dark and brightest phase. That’s how human beings are. It is shown with so much realism, creativity and newness. That’s why it stood the test of time, and that’s why people still celebrate ‘Satya’,” Bajpayee added.

The love for film was not instant, the actor recalled, saying that people started coming to the theatres based on word of mouth.

“For a week, there was no audience inside the theatres. Only after the word of mouth started getting stronger and stronger from the second week onwards, it started attracting people and theatres started filling up,” he elaborated.

‘Satya’ went on to run in cinema halls for close to 25 weeks and emerged as one of the last silver jubilee films of the country, the actor said, adding that the team was awarded a trophy to mark the milestone at a function.

Meanwhile, Matondkar recently expressed disappointment with award shows for overlooking her role in the iconic film ‘Satya’.

Celebrating 25 years since its release, Urmila shared pictures of her character and questioned the lack of recognition. She highlighted the irony of playing a simple chawl girl during her glamorous career and mentioned the issues of favoritism and nepotism in the industry, IANS reported from Mumbai.