Manoj Bajpayee is celebrating his 53rd birthday today. The actor has a career spanning almost three decades, and his contribution to Indian cinema is simply remarkable. Manoj has starred in over 70 films, of which the majority have been hailed by the critics as well as the audience. While his professional feats are no news, little is known about his personal life. Manoj is currently married to Shabana Raza, known as Neha Bajpayee, who is also an actor. But how did the two meet? Well, you will be surprised to hear that it was “love at first sight.” In his biography Manoj Bajpayee- Kuch Paane Ki Zid, written by Piyush Pandey, the actor revealed that it was Shabana’s simplicity that won his heart.
Manoj saw Shabana at a Bollywood party, hosted by filmmaker Hansal Mehta in 1998. At that time, Shabana had just made her debut with Kareeb alongside Bobby Deol. In his biography, Manoj described the sight when he first saw Shabana. He wrote that as soon as he entered the party hall, a woman without makeup sitting on a chair caught his attention. He mentioned that the woman even had oily hair and was wearing glasses.
“Maine socha ki yaar Bollywood ki kisi heroine mein to itna saahas nahi ki baalo mein tel lagakar party mein aa jaaye, to bas is saadgi pe dil aa gaya (I thought no heroine in Bollywood would have the courage to come to a party with oil in her hair, this simplicity caught my heart),” the excerpt from the book reads.
We got to know from the biography that Shabana was in depression at the time, as Kareeb had toppled at the box office and she only had one film, Hogi Pyaar Ki Jeet in the pipeline. Manoj and Shabana hung out together at the afterparty, and the two were quite smitten with each other. The two were vocal about their affair to their families too. After 8 years of friendship and dating, they finally tied the knot in 2006. Currently, they are also parents to a daughter.
While Shabana was indeed Manoj’s first love, she was his second wife. Manoj was initially married to a woman, who hailed from Delhi, but the two had parted ways. Very little is known about her whereabouts.
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