Manoj Bajpayee Says Kids Are Getting Depressed Easily Because Parents Don't Thrash Them: ‘There Was No Concept Of Privacy…’

Actor Manoj Bajpayee recounted their experiences of growing up in a household where there was no concept of privacy or dialogue about mental health.

Manoj Bajpayee on depression: Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who is currently promoting his film ‘Silence 2’, talked about mental health and depression. The actor was a guest with his co-star Prachi Desai in Bharti Singh and Harsh Limbachiyaa’s latest episode of their podcast. Manoj, Prachi, and the hosts recounted their experiences of growing up in a household where there was no concept of privacy or dialogue about mental health.

Manoj Bajpayee on depression and parenting

While discussing about the kind of parenting they have seen, Bharti, who is the co-host of the show, says, “Abhi ke maa baap bade kamzoor ho gaye hai. Humare maa baap bade himmat wale the (Now, parents have become very weak. Our parents used to be very courageous).”

“Maa baap nahi mujhe toh lagta hai insaan hi thoda mentally kamzor ho gaya hai pehle se. Jaise ye sab depression… (I feel like it's not just the parents who have become mentally weaker than before, but humans in general? Like, all this depression),” Harsh chimed in.

Manoj Bajpayee says, “Ye sab depression wagera isiliye hua hai kyuki sutaai nahi hui hai (All this depression and stuff happened because there was no thrashing).” 

Manoj Bajpayee recalls his childhood

The actor recalled his childhood days in the village, when he used to share a room with his entire family. 

“Humare kamre mein privacy naam ka koi chakkar nahi hota tha goan mein. Ki mera private space hai. Private space, kya hota hai? Nikalo dikhao sandukh mein kya kya rakha hai, matlab kya magazine padh rahe the. Humare khandaan mein seeti nahi baja sakte the. Mujhe abhi bhi bajani nahi aati kyuki bachpan mein aaisi sutaai hui hai seeti bajane ko leke (There was no concept of privacy in our rooms in the village. What is private space? Show me what's kept in the trunk, like what magazines were being read. We couldn't whistle in our family. I still can't whistle because I was beaten in childhood for whistling.) 

The actor then cites an example about his daughter and says, “Jaise meri beti ke room mein mujhe khat khatana padta hai ki main aa jaun andar. Kehti hai ‘no don’t come, I am getting ready’ (Like, I have to knock on my daughter's room door to come inside. She says, 'no don't come, I am getting ready').”

Manoj Bajpayee talks about battling depression and suicidal thoughts

Previously, in March 2023, Manoj Bajpayee opened up about his struggle with depression and having fleeting suicidal thoughts after being rejected from the National School of Drama.

Talking to ANI, Bajpayee said, “By the time I went to the National School of Drama (NSD), I had become quite experienced during those 3 years but still I was rejected. Following that for a duration of one month I felt like everything of mine has been taken away because I never had a Plan B. I never make a Plan B. After that for a month my friends supported me and got me out of depression and I started looking for a new path. Ultimately, in Mandi House, a theatre group of NSD alumni was doing a 365-day workshop, which I joined. I learned a lot there”.

Manoj Bajpayee was recently seen in ‘Silence 2’, also starring Prachi Desai, as  ACP Avinash Verma. The film directed by Aban Bharucha Deohans tells the story of an officer and his special crime unit trying to unravel mysteries behind a series of murders. ‘Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout’ released on April 16 on ZEE5.