Pankaj Tripathi is one of the most renowned actors in the country. The Stree actor has created his own identity in the industry with his splendid performances and amazing script choices. In the OTT space too, the actor is creating ripples with his performances be with Sacred Games or Mirzapur.
Talking about his journey in Bollywood, Pankaj Tripathi feels that where he is today is a result of his failures. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Pankaj talked about his initial days of facing the camera, he said, “The first time I faced a camera was in Patna when I played a Prince in a Doordarshan documentary on festivals of the Mithila region. I was pretty clueless about where to look and what to do and just about managed to pull it off.”
While speaking about how his part was cut after shooting for Hrithik Roshan’ starrer Lakshya and post that Praksh Jha’s associate spotted him and asked to audition him for a role in Nashik, “I then shot for Hrithik Roshan’s Lakshya when I was in Delhi. Unfortunately, my part was chopped off on the editing table and I didn’t make the final cut. When I came to Mumbai, looking for work, Prakash Jha’s associate asked me to audition for a role in Nashik. Upon reaching there, I realized I had already got the part, although a small one. But you will really have to search for me,” the actor said.
Pankaj adds that he didn’t come to Mumbai to be ‘launched’ and just wanted to convert his passion into his profession by doing interesting roles. He also thanked Anurag Kashyap for trusting him with the character of Sultan Qureshi in Gangs Of Wassepur, which came as a life changer for the actor, “Someone who wanted to be a hero would never play one of five henchmen in films. By the time I landed Gangs of Wasseypur, I had been working in films for eight years and had played a gun-toting villain so many times that I didn’t realize I would become a known face after it. But it was only thanks to Anurag Kashyap and the arc that he gave Sultan Qureshi that I got noticed.”
The Gangs of Wassepur actor expresses his gratitude, “I was spellbound but never imagined that hat someone would want to click a selfie with me or that a fan would visit my parents with a gift of clothes all the way from Delhi. My parents still don’t own a TV set and have and have no idea that people know me now,” the actor revealed.
Pankaj is now all set for the second season of his web series Mirzapur which will air on Amazon Prime Video from 23 October.
Source: Desi Martini
