Divya
Our Kaleen Bhaiyya from Mirzapur is quite the charmer in real life and we can’t help it but be astonished by Pankaj Tripathi’s struggle onto his well-deserved fame.
In an interview, Tripathi talks about Mirzapur, his character in Ludo and his journey to success.
Pankaj had once very slyly admitted to not having watched Mirzapur. It was the lockdown that had him watching the series. “I have watched five episodes, five more to go. I fast forward the show. I watch my own scenes and fast forward other’s scenes. I shouldn’t do this though,” Pankaj says with a hearty laugh.
Pankaj then goes on to talk about the kind of content he likes watching, his favourites being Court, Tithi, Killa and Ship of Theseus. “I like films that have ‘saadgi’ and old-world charm, humour, sound and landscape. I don’t like crime, guns, ‘gaalis’ so much.“
The actor is all set to play yet another don, this time in Anurag Basu’s Ludo, which will be releasing on Netflix. Tripathi plays a character called Sattu whose signature style is leather jacket and yellow glares (and to his relief, not his usual Mirzapur dhoti look). Joking, Pankaj adds, “I also want to wear yellow glasses and red shoes on screen. No one ever gives me that chance. Sattu has a sweet little love story, people will not remember him as a gangster once they are done with the film.“
Talking about his struggle into the industry Pankaj says, “When you come to the industry as an outsider, you have to make seven runs in one ball – hit a sixer and then run and take one more. That is the fun of it. Make the most out of the chances you get. The period between 2004 to 2012, I was looking for work, but more importantly, I was working on my craft. Sharpen your tool so much that you are ready. My journey is a proof that film industry is not as bad as it is said to be.“
