Manoj Bajpayee recalls asking Ram Gopal Varma for a role Manoj Bajpayee made his debut with ‘Bandit Queen’, but it was Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya that established him as an actor. In a recent interview, the actor recalled his first meeting with the filmmaker.Elaborating how he got ‘Satya’ the actor said, “I was at the filmmaker’s (Ram Gopal Varma) office to meet him for a part in the 1997 film Daud. RGV asked me if I'd done anything of note before. I said, yes, I did Bandit Queen. But you won’t recognize me; I played a non-speaking character.”He continued, “When I told him I played Maan Singh, he stood up, and said that he had been looking for me for years, but couldn’t get his hands on my number. Do one thing, forget Daud, I have another movie for you, you’ll play the lead.”The actor said that he couldn’t believe the filmmaker, and insisted that he be cast in the smaller role as well because he needed the cash.Manoj further says, “I felt good, but I knew that I’d lose out on the money I’d make for this film, and I needed to pay rent. Many people make promises like this. So I told him, "Sir, let it (Satya) happen whenever it does, let me do this film I need money,” to which RGV replied, “Trust me, I’ll make that film with you, but I insisted on this role.”For ‘Daud’, he got Rs 30,000 as remuneration. “That paid rent for a year,” said Bajpayee. He ultimately starred in ‘Satya’ as well but was reduced to a secondary presence as time went on. But as luck would have it, his character Bhiku Mhatre is still remembered as one of his best performances.