Pankaj Tripathi's acting has left anindelible impression on our thoughts. It might be from ‘Mirzapur' or any otherof his films. With his acting, the actor ensures that the audience is engaged.
He showed us a seamless transition betweenhis characters, from Kaleen Bhaiya in ‘Mirzapur’ to Anup Saxena in ‘GunjanSaxena’.
Tripathi, who’s had a whirlwind year with sixprojects, including films like Gunjan Saxena, Ludo, Kaagaz and Mimi, and webshow Mirzapur 2 and Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors, however claims thathe needs to take it slow.
“I was running at a very fast pace before thepandemic, doing too much work without any break. Though I never ignored myfamily, but in a normal work culture, you work for 10 hours, five days a week.I wasn’t following that. I finally understood that life is precious and I needto maintain a balance between my professional and personal life,” Tripathisaid, adding that he’s found equilibrium.
Tripathi’s exceptional realistic touch to hisperformance make all his characters stand out in a project. Though he claims ofimprovising when it’s needed, he ensures it suits the role. “I keep a grace inmy characters, and try to make them perform with that,” he added.
Tripathi getting into the skin of hischaracters is a masterclass for many. From playing Kriti Sanon’s father inBareilly Ki Barfi, a flamboyant man who’s after bursting the truth behind herfake marriage in Luka Chuppi to her friend-confidant in Mimi, Tripathislipped into the shoes of all his characters smoothly. According to him, suchvaried roles happened organically, as he picks stories which he likespersonally, be it any sort of relationship with his co-star on-screen.
“People making memes are very creative. Theyobserve small things and give it a whole new interpretation. I noticed how I doit (neck movement) in the middle of Mirzapur’s shooting. I got a script for aTVC recently where it was mentioned ‘Tripathi’s signature nod here’ (laughs). Isay if you ask for it deliberately, I can’t do it. It’s spontaneous.”
Explaining how his family has not watchedmost of his work but have liked ‘Mimi’, Pankaj said, “A boy from rural Indiacame here to become an actor, and eventually became one, people startedrecognizing him, this in itself is a miracle. Our state Bihar is a littlebehind in terms of artistic landscape. I was speaking with Manoj bhaiya (ManojBajpayee) too that OTT has made actors like us (from the same state), immenselybusy and popular.”
Actor Pankaj Tripathi is aninspiration for many actors now but did you know that he considers ManojBajpayee his idol. Pankaj and Manoj later worked together on AnuragKashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur. Manoj was recently seen in Family Man Season 2and Dial 100.
For the unversed, at the Indian Film Festivalof Melbourne, Pankaj Tripathi received the Diversity in Cinema Award (IFFM).