‘Too serious is too boring’

Nonika Singh 

Amid the coronavirus scare, versatile actor Pankaj Tripathi is busy rustling up a meal for his daughter. His hectic shooting schedules hardly allow the gifted actor the luxury of spending time with his family. Making the most of this much deserved break due to the lockdown, he’s using the time cooking — his favourite dish being aloo vadi, coupled with flaxseed chutney — and walking his dog.  For a lesser actor,  stardom and love of burgeoning tribe of fans  may have spawned insecurity, but Tripathi views the growing fandom as an added responsibility. He’s aware of how viewers greet his sheer presence onscreen with claps and whistles, a rare for a character actor.

But how does this scene stealer manage to create an impact even in a brief role as in Angrezi Medium? All he says of his short but impactful role of travel agent Tony in the Irrfan Khan starrer is, “I am humbled and honoured to be in the same frame as Irrfan Khan who has been an inspiration not just for me but many at the NSD. He has changed the whole approach to acting.” 

Today as many credit Tripathi, too, with setting new parameters, in a self-effacing tone, he says, “I have just started.” But deep down he knows he has come a long way. “Often I wonder how I have come in this industry, working here without a godfather... Boond boond jod kar, I have created my space.” 

This year alone would see him in a clutch of significant roles in films like Gunjan Saxena; The Kargil Girl, ’83, Mimi, Roohi Afzana and second outing of web-series Mirzapur too. Yet his favourite film till date remains Gurgaon. When asked whether he would prefer a movie or a web-drama, he answers, “Ideally, I would love to have my cake and eat it too. At times, due to date issues, if I have to say no to a good story, I deeply regret it.” 

As he has just wrapped up the shooting of ‘83 wherein he plays a sports coach for the second time (earlier it was in Harjeeta), he says, “Though often I am told that with minor inflections, I can breathe a new life into a character here the key difference between two characters lies in writing.” Writing, he insists, is the motherboard of all creative mediums, especially web-series, where characters can be fleshed out better.

His approach to the character, however, does not change whether he is playing a devious character or a jocular one as in say Luka Chuppi. Though he tries to make sense of all his characters, he believes, “A bit of nonsense too is essential, too serious is too boring.” 

Nevertheless, he is dead serious about his craft. Comedy too for him is serious business. The all important lesson that he learnt in his alma mater, the National School of Drama, was, “If you look at a thing/ role or even life, don’t just follow the first approach that comes to your mind. Explore all possibilities.” But advises against over-analysing cinema. He says one should not always look at life or art through the lens of censure.  He responds to criticism positively but also says, “Perfect is only a word.” 

Yet another life’s lesson comes from Baba Nagarjun’s poem, “Jo na ho sake pooran kaam, mein unko karta hoon parnam.” No wonder he would not dwell on the ifs and buts, what could have been had someone noticed him when he was 25 and cast him as romantic lead. 

He says, “Possible. But I guess then I would have lost direction.” With a schedule that’s keeping him occupied till early 2021, Tripathi has little reason to complain. 

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