Manoj Bajpayee nearly got killed in Manali; actor recalls harrowing near-death experience

Versatile actor Manoj Bajpayee recently recalled a harrowing near-death experience during a movie shoot in Manali. He shared how actor Manav Kaul, with whom he shares a close bond with, inadvertently put everyone’s lives in danger, while trying to have fun on the set of the movie ‘1971’.

In a candid conversation with Lallantop, Manoj recalled, “We had 2-3 near-death experiences during the filming of 1971. We were sitting in a jeep – Ravi Kishan, myself, Manav Kaul, Kumud Mishra, and Deepak Dobriyal. The scene required the jeep to come down from a hill and stop in front of the camera, with a valley to its right. At that time, Manav was a carefree, waggish boy who loved to tease me.”

He continued, “Since Manav was driving the jeep, I specifically told him to be cautious because of the tricky terrain. But instead of taking my advice seriously, he decided to mess with me, thinking I was just scared. In an attempt to scare me further, he started teasing me while driving. However, things quickly spiraled out of control when he lost control on the jeep, and it veered towards the valley. For a moment we thought this was the end.”

“Manav’s face turned pale with fear. Somehow, a big rock stopped the jeep on the edge of the valley. Then the team brought us out of the jeep one by one. It was deadly,” Manoj recounted.

“Now, every time I meet Manav, I just swear at him,” Manoj added jokingly.

Worth mentioning, the movie ‘1971’ was based on a true story of Indian prisoners of war (POWs) captured by the Pakistani Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.  The film chronicles the gripping account of six Indian Army personnel and their daring escape attempt after being taken as POWs.