In our series Streaming Guide, we list the works of a filmmaker or actor which are available on streaming platforms like ZEE5, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, Eros Now and YouTube.

This edition features Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee who has movies like Satya, Gangs of Wasseypur, Aligarh, Pinjar, Sonchiriya and Bhonsle among others to his credit.

Satya

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Eros Now, ZEE5

Ram Gopal Varma’s gangster drama centres around the titular character played by JD Chakravarthy. He is an immigrant who comes to Mumbai in search of work and meets Manoj Bajpayee’s character Bhiku Mhatre. The two soon get entangled in the underbelly of the city. Bhiku Mhatre is counted as one of the finest performances of Bajpayee, and the film is also among the best crime dramas made in Bollywood. It also stars Urmila Matondkar, Paresh Rawal, and Saurabh Shukla in pivotal roles.

Kaun?

Streaming on: YouTube

Sushant Singh and Manoj Bajpayee in Kaun. (Express archive photo)

Directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Anurag Kashyap, the suspense thriller stars Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh in the lead roles. Back in 1999, the film was considered experimental as it was shot in just one house for over 15 days with no dance and song sequences.

Shool

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

Manoj Bajpayee in Shool. (Express archive photo)

In Shool, Manoj Bajpayee essays the role of an honest police officer Samar Pratap Singh who locks horns with corrupt MLA Bacchu Yadav (Sayaji Shinde) in a small town of Bihar. Raveena Tandon plays Bajpayee’s wife in the movie. Co-written by Ram Gopal Varma and Anurag Kashyap, Shool is predictable like any cop drama which highlights the story of an honest police officer. But what lifts the movie and makes it worth a watch is Bajpayee and Shinde’s performance. The film won the National Award for Best Picture in 1999.

Zubeidaa

Streaming on: YouTube

Manoj Bajpayee and Karisma Kapoor in Zubeidaa.

Shyam Benegal’s film is the story of a young man Riyaz (Rajit Kapoor) who yearns to learn more about his mother, Zubeidaa (Karisma Kapoor). Zubeidaa is shown to be a rebel and a free-spirited woman who was bound by the shackles of patriarchy. She seeks love from Maharaja Vijayendra Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) who is already married with two kids. Benegal and Kapoor received much appreciation for Zubeidaa. The film even won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Also, when you mention Zubeidaa, you cannot miss the film’s music by AR Rahman.

Aks

Streaming on: YouTube

A poster of Aks.

Helmed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Aks is a thriller in which an assassin (Manoj Bajpayee) is hanged to death, but killings continue to occur in the same style as he used to do. The hunt for a copycat leads to the policeman (Amitabh Bachchan) who had arrested the assassin and later got possessed by his spirit. The film also stars Raveena Tandon and Nandita Das.

Pinjar

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

Manoj Bajpayee and Urmila Matondkar in Pinjar. (Express archive photo)

Directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, this film is based on Amrita Pritam’s Punjabi novel of the same name. Pinjar is the story of Puro (Urmila Matondkar), a girl who gets kidnapped by Rashid (Manoj Bajpayee) just before the partition and is left in Pakistan, while the rest of her family manages to travel back to Amritsar. This period drama did not get its due at the time of the release but has garnered a following over the years. Manoj Bajpayee even won a National Award for the movie.

Rajneeti

Streaming on: Netflix, YouTube

Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpayee and Naseeruddin Shah in Rajneeti.

Prakash Jha’s political thriller Rajneeti, starring Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, is the story of brothers and cousins doing what it takes to head a political party in Madhya Pradesh. The film is a modern take on Indian epic Mahabharata.

Aarakshan

Streaming on: Netflix

Prakash Jha’s film Aarakshan explores the reservation system in India for scheduled tribes and castes in educational organisations and government departments. The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Bajpayee among others.

Gangs of Wasseypur

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

A poster of Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs Of Wasseypur.

Director Anurag Kashyap’s gritty gangster drama revolves around gangster Sardar Khan (Manoj Bajpayee) and his power struggle with coal-mining kingpin Ramadhir Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia) in Dhanbad. The film boasts some striking performances by Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Piyush Mishra, Huma Qureshi, Dhulia and Richa Chadha. The second part of the movie hit screens two months after the release of Gangs of Wasseypur.

Special 26

Streaming on: Netflix

A still from Special 26.

Heist drama Special 26 is based on a series of real-life incidents from the 1980s when a group of conmen robbed politicians and businessmen by disguising themselves as CBI and Income Tax officials. The film’s narrative is engaging with some good performances by Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher and Manoj Bajpayee.

Shootout at Wadala

Streaming on: MX Player

A poster of Shootout at Wadala.

In a mood to watch a mindless film? Sanjay Gupta’s film Shootout at Wadala is a good pick. The film starring John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee, Kangana Ranaut, Tusshar Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Mahesh Manjrekar and others is set in the underbelly of Mumbai. It is said to be based on the life of Maharashtrian gangster Manya Surve, played by Abraham, who was involved in the first-ever police encounter in the country.

Aligarh

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

Manoj Bajpayee in a still from Aligarh.

The Hansal Mehta directorial is based on the real-life incident of Aligarh Muslim University professor Srinivas Ramchandra Siras who was suspended from his job because of his sexual orientation. Manoj Bajpayee essays the role of Prof. Siras and Rajkummar Rao plays journalist Deepu Sebastian who brought the professor’s story out of the closet. The film boasts of another winning performance by Bajpayee. Also, Mehta handled the subject of homosexuality sensitively.

Kriti

Streaming on: YouTube

Shirish Kunder’s short film Kriti is a psychological thriller which will leave you on the edge of your seat. Starring Manoj Bajpayee, Neha Sharma and Radhika Apte, it revolves around a man named Sapan (Bajpayee) who meets a therapist Kalpana. During a therapy session, Sapan tells Kalpana (Apte) about his meeting with a writer named Kriti. To ensure that Kriti does not only exists in Sapan’s imagination, Kalpana insists on meeting her. Her insistence leads to a series of events which leave you biting your nails.

Budhia Singh – Born to Run

Streaming on: Netflix

Budhia Singh Born to Run is based on Budhia Singh’s life, a child prodigy who ran a host of marathons as a five-year-old.

Based on the world’s youngest marathon runner of the same name who made headlines in 2006, Budhia Singh – Born to Run is directed by Soumendra Padhi and features Manoj Bajpayee and Mayur Patole in the lead roles. Budhia Singh (Patole) is a young boy who is ready to run because that can fetch him a bicycle. Biranchi Das (Bajpayee) is a coach who is obsessed enough with this boy wonder to give up his family and career to train him. Together they are out to create history until politics sets them apart. The best moments of the film are those where we get to see the intricacy of Budhia and Biranchi’s relationship.

Aiyaary

Streaming on: Netflix

Sidharth Malhotra and Manoj Bajpayee in a still from Aiyaary.

The Sidharth Malhotra, Manoj Bajpayee and Rakul Preet starrer is the story of an ex-army officer who plans to oust one of the country’s best-kept secrets while his mentor is out to stop him. The film treads familiar territory with men in uniform trying to safeguard the honour of the nation. Still, if you like typical Bollywood style thrillers, Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary is a decent pick.

Love Sonia

Streaming on: Disney Plus Hotstar

Manoj Bajpayee and Mrunal Thakur in a still from Love Sonia.

Tabrez Noorani’s Love Sonia dramatises the horrors of sex trafficking. It is a harrowing tale of a 17-year-old girl Sonia who is out to rescue her sister from the clutches of sex traffickers. The film features an ensemble cast including Manoj Bajpayee, Adil Hussain, Rajkummar Rao, Richa Chadda, and Frieda Pinto.

Bhonsle

Streaming on: SonyLIV

Bhonsle is streaming on SonyLIV.

Directed by Devashish Makhija, the film features Bajpayee as the terminally ill lone wolf Maharashtrian cop Bhonsle. In her review of the movie, Shubhra Gupta wrote, “Bajpayee, one of the few Indian actors who uses silence to such effect, has been on a roll for the last few years, raising the bar with each performance. The last time he internalised a role as much was in the 2017 film Gali Guleiyan, directed by Dipesh Jain. Here he is even better, each crease in his worn face showing a man whose stoicism comes from hard experience, who has seen everything there is to see, and yet is capable of deep empathy. Bhonsle gives us an actor on the top of his game.”

Sonchiriya

Streaming on: ZEE5

A still from Sonchiriya featuring Manoj Bajpayee, Sushant Singh Rajput and Bhumi Pednekar.

Abhishek Chaubey’s dacoit drama features Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana as rustic rebels. With a power-packed cast and an intriguing plot, Sonchiriya is a must watch.

Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari

Streaming on: ZEE5

A poster of Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari. (Photo: Manoj Bajpayee/Twitter)

Starring Manoj Bajpayee, Diljit Dosanjh and Fatima Sana Shaikh, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari is the story of a Mumbai boy Suraj (Dosanjh) whose bride hunt is thwarted by detective Mangal (Bajpayee), who exposes the ills of prospective grooms to the girls and their families. When Suraj gets to know about Mangal, he decides to take revenge.

Streaming Guide | Gulzar | Anurag Kashyap | Hrithik Roshan | Priyanka Chopra | Imtiaz Ali | Vishal Bhardwaj | Sanjay Leela Bhansali | Ayushmann Khurrana | Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Anees Bazmee | Rajkumar Hirani | Ashutosh Gowariker | Bollywood movies of 2019 | Salman Khan | Kareena Kapoor Khan | Saif Ali Khan | Disha Patani | Kartik Aaryan | Vicky Kaushal | Taapsee Pannu | Tiger Shroff | Kundan Shah | Ranveer Singh | Rohit Shetty | Hansal Mehta | Ranbir Kapoor | Varun Dhawan | Karan Johar | Anushka Sharma | Alia Bhatt | Shoojit Sircar | Abhay Deol | Deepika Padukone | Vinay Pathak | Zoya Akhtar | Sushmita Sen | Abhishek Bachchan | Aditi Rao Hydari | Amit Sadh | Neeraj Pandey | Vidya Balan | Prakash Jha | Janhvi Kapoor | Swara Bhasker | Aditya Roy Kapur  | Pankaj Tripathi |  Sumeet Vyas | Ali Abbas Zafar | Sudhir Mishra | Vikrant Massey | Shweta Basu Prasad | Pratik Gandhi | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan | Shah Rukh Khan| Hrithik Roshan | Akshay Kumar | Anurag Basu | Bobby Deol | Rajeev Khandelwal | Rasika Dugal | Sanjay Dutt | Bollywood movies of 2020 | Satish Kaushik| Kajol | Dimple Kapadia | Richa Chadha

The Family Man

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

Raj and DK’s The Family Man streams on Prime Video.

Raj and DK’s Amazon Prime Video web series follows an intelligence officer Srikant Tiwari who is struggling hard to maintain a work-life balance. It stars Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role along with Sharib Hashmi, Gul Panag, Sharad Kelkar, Priyamani Iyer and Shreya Dhanwanthary in supporting roles.