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Journalism of Courage
Kaleen Bhaiya, Madhav Mishra, Sultan Qureshi, Guru Ji, Bhanu Pratap Pandey, etc have become names with a familiar ring to them in Indian households. Portrayed by actor Pankaj Tripathi in such sleek and effortless manners, these roles have become etched in viewers’ hearts and minds for times to come. In a bid to know more about his approach to acting and experiences in the film industry with students of the National School of Drama (NSD), theatre lovers and cinephiles, the Mirzapur actor was invited to the ‘allied event’ happening on the sidelines of NSD’s 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav on Tuesday.
Talking to The Indian Express, the NSD alumnus opened up about the changing career prospects for the young actors in the institute. “I am happy after the advent of OTT, new faces are seen performing good roles, sometimes portraying the lead. Earlier, new faces used to come in hardly one or two scenes. The industry has opened up in that way. The struggle was more when we started off in 2004. Earlier, everything used to happen in a cocoon- it was difficult to find out where films were being made, where new actors could find opportunities, etc. The kind of roles that we could get during those days was of bhaajiwala (vegetable vendor) and delivery boy,” he said.
Born in the village of Belsand in Bihar, Tripathi nurtured his acting aspirations when he shifted to Patna for higher education and a job, where he started doing theatre in 1995 and simultaneously tried for NSD, giving its exam three times before being successful in the fourth time in 2001. “I used to work in a hotel and simultaneously did theatre too. Then I realised I was more interested in drama than my job, ” the Kaagaz actor shared.
On being asked why he chose NSD, Tripathi, who is the epitome of simplicity, ingenuity and humility, replied, “Ati sadharan duniya se aate the, acting school ke liye paise nahi the.” (I come from a very humble background, there was no money to enrol in acting school). “NSD taught me to become a better person as well as an actor. For me, the purpose of acting is to become a finer human being. It is all about keeping samvedna (sympathy) and innocence intact within you. As long as your innocence stays, your acting will bloom,” said the actor, adding that acting is like oxygen for him; it makes him feel alive.
The actor, who won a Special Mention at the 65th National Film Awards for his performance in Newton, also emphasised that acting is not an easy job as, “in order to act, you have to understand the nitty gritty of this world, and more pertinently, you have to take a deep dive into yourself to understand yourself better. Your whole body should become a single unit and your body should listen to your brain, and vice versa. The more I explore the world of acting, the more I feel I have so much to learn.”
Highlighting the importance of imagination in acting, Tripathi said, “Imagination has a very important place in acting. My imagination skills became very strong as there was no road or electricity in my village, thus, newspapers never came. There was a massive lack of information. So all the questions and curiosities that I had, I used to think of their answers in my imagination. So before knowing the right answers, I would have already imagined everything.”
The 46-year-old actor came to Mumbai in 2004 chasing his dream of working in cinema. From doing minor roles in movies like Run and Agneepath and essaying supporting roles in films such as Gunjan Saxena and Stree to playing lead roles in Kaagaz, Gurgaon and other films, his acting journey is dynamic, to say the least. “As my screen time increased, the makers involved me more in the preparation process, especially the writing part. They take my advice and opinion more seriously. When the role is bigger, directors’ approach towards the actor becomes more responsible.”
After establishing his indelible mark in the industry, Tripathi, who abhors the flamboyant lifestyle of a ‘movie star’, has become more conscientious and watchful of the scripts he chooses and has deliberately created a fence in order to not take up any and everything that comes his way. “I don’t prefer too much brutality and movies/series- which show women in bad light or violence against kids. I don’t feel like getting associated with such projects. I have started eschewing such roles,” he said.
Even though the Criminal Justice actor has five to six projects lined up in 2023, he shared, “I really miss theatre and will come back to it as soon as I can”, adding that “theatre mai chunauti aur maza, dono zyada hai” (Theatre has more challenges and is more exciting).
Nonetheless, the process of preparing for a character in both mediums involves reading the script persistently, then meticulously working on the finer aspects- what is the history of the character, his financial and social status, why is the character behaving the way he is and so on. “As you surrender yourself to this process, after a while the character starts guiding you. It takes 20 years to be an actor but 20-25 days to become a character.”
Concluding, Tripathi shared that after finishing up the commitments this year, he wishes to briefly take a breather from incessant work to pander to his spiritual inclinations. “Sirf acting mai santushti nahi hai, jeevan jeene mai bhi santushti hai, guru.” (Only acting does not satisfy me, there is immense satisfaction in even living life)
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