Panchayat’s Pankaj Jha questions film industry for delayed recognition of Irrfan Khan, says everyone else is a ‘mimicry artist’

Pankaj Jha recently questioned the industry for keeping a talent like Irrfan deprive for work for so long in the industry. Most of the actor's work from from 1988 to 2001 went unnoticed.

Irrfan Khan died in 2020. (Photo: Pankaj Jha/Irrfan Khan/Instagram)

Pankaj Jha, who was recently seen in the Amazon Prime Video web series Panchayat, recently shared why he feels like a misfit in showbiz. In a recent conversation with the indianexpress.com, Pankaj questioned the industry for not recognising a talent like Irrfan Khan, and taking years before applauding his talent. “This is like a disease,” he said.

While the entertainment industry is known for glitz and glamour, Pankaj told us that this world is nothing like it looks from the outside and the culture is more like a disease where one completely loses himself. He said, “There are two journeys in life. One, where the whole universe gets to know you, and two, where you understand who you are. When I was in Mumbai and getting many offers, I was doing film after film, but for some reason I wasn’t very satisfied with my life. I had this feeling that I don’t want this life, I don’t want to become like everybody else. This is not my journey. I cannot carry that personality, it would simply make me feel uncomfortable. Then I will have to pretend like the others, act in a particular way, lose myself. This is where Osho helped me and saved me from falling in that life.”

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He added, “People, working in cinema should be treated like common people. It’s just another job. I don’t understand why they (actors/stars) turn out to become this very complicated people. This is like a disease. I saved myself, I do painting, writing, I don’t depend on movies. I stay away from all that.”

Pankaj, who made his debut with Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, went on to act in films like Gulaal and Black Friday, among others. In the same interview, Pankaj Jha also said that the only actor worth applauding was Irrfan Khan. He also questioned the film industry for making him struggle for so long.

“I believe actors should refrain themselves from watching films. What happens is they start to mimic it. Today, I feel every actor is mimicking someone. There was only one actor in the industry who was real, that was Irrfan Khan. He has set a benchmark for actors and everybody is trying to reach that benchmark but it is not easy to reach,” he said.

He added, “We should question the industry why it takes them so much time to recognise true talents like Irrfan Khan.” Irrfan Khan, who died in 2020, was first seen in a small role in Mira Nair’s 1988 film Salaam Bombay. Then he was seen in the television series Laal Ghaas Par Neele Ghode, and Darr. In the 90s, he acted in several television serials. He also appeared in an episode of Ssshhhh… Koi Hai in 2001. In the same year, Asif Kapadia cast him as the lead in The Warrior, a historical drama, and this film changed the trajectory of his career. In 2004, he featured in a short film, Road to Ladakh, which received rave reviews at international festivals. In the same year, the actor played the title role in critically acclaimed Maqbool.

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He later appeared in films like The Namesake, Life in a… Metro, A Mighty Heart, The Darjeeling Limited, Slumdog Millionaire, Acid Factory, Life of Pi, and The Lunchbox, among others. The 2020 film Angrezi Medium was his last film, which released on March 11, 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.

Jyothi Jha

Jyothi Jha works as a Copy Editor at the Indian Express. She brings in more than 5 years of experience where she has covered Entertainment majorly for TV9, NDTV and Republic Media. Apart from Entertainment, she has been an anchor, copy editor and managed production team under the Politics and Daily News segment. She's passionate about Journalism and it has always been her first choice, she believes in what George Orwell had once said, " Journalism is printing what someone else does not want you to do, rest everything is public relations". ... Read More

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