When the poster of Fukrey Returns (2017) was released, it had four actors and a lion on it. Pankaj Tripathi had never really cared much for being on a film’s poster, but his absence on this one disappointed him for the first time in his career. He was more important than the lion, he thought to himself, and messaged one of the executive producers about it. Karan Anshuman of Excel Entertainment got back to Tripathi, asking him not to lose heart. “Let the film release. People will see your work and talk about you,” Anshuman told him.
A year later, billboards in major Indian cities prominently featured Tripathi. This time as Kaleen Bhaiya, the patriarch in gangster drama Mirzapur. Anshuman is the showrunner, and the second season will drop soon. Another year later, as the second season of Sacred Games released, Tripathi as Guruji dominated posters again, alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Saif Ali Khan. His character also became a hit on social media, thanks to various memes and GIFs.
By giving him central characters, streaming platforms have made him a star, he concurs. Something that may have been difficult in the mainstream film industry. But there is more that the shows have done. It has exposed him to an international audience. This week, he makes a brief appearance as a drug lord in the Hollywood thriller Extraction, starring Chris Hemsworth. The Covid-19 lockdown was preceded by the release of Angrezi Medium, which also had Tripathi in a cameo role. If he did Angrezi Medium because of his respect for Irrfan Khan, he did Extraction because the team showed him a lot of respect. “They came to me with a proposal of doing this character that has a small part on-screen but remains relevant throughout the film,” said Tripathi from his Madh Island home in Mumbai. “I took the offer as a form of appreciation for my craft.”
His balcony overlooks a vast patch of greenery, instead of Mumbai’s concrete jungle. Looking at it, he says he longs for the village life he led, growing up in Belsand, Bihar. “The village inside me refuses to leave,”
he said. But for now, living in Mumbai is important for his work. Last year, he shifted from Malad to Madh, an area far from the Andheri-Bandra stretch where the bulk of the film fraternity lives. “I am okay with travelling a little extra if I come back to a home that gives me the feel of home and familiarity to my roots,” said Tripathi.
Blood and thunder: Chirs Hemsworth and Randeep Hooda in Extraction. Apart from Pankaj Tripathi, Hooda is another Indian presence in the movie
He was not always this spoilt for choice. In 2004, after graduating from the National School of Drama, he moved to Mumbai with his wife, Mridula, and could only afford a one bedroom-kitchen setup. He had already played small roles in the Kannada film Chigurida Kanasu (2003) and in the Hindi film Run (2004). His wife worked as a teacher to support the family as Tripathi stood in queues for auditions. Years passed with him doing bit parts in films and slogging it out for television shows. This was until casting director Mukesh Chhabra suggested him for the role of Sultan in Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). That changed everything.
If not for the lockdown, Tripathi would have had a packed schedule till the end of August. “I don’t take too much pressure on acting. The only pressure I have is the schedule,” he said. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who gave Tripathi his first comic role in Nil Battey Sannata (2015) and another delightful role in Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), had earlier told THE WEEK about how she wanted Tripathi to play an important character in Panga (2020) as she considers him her lucky charm. Tripathi agreed to do it straight away. But in the months preceding the film’s pre-production phase, he failed to block dates for her film. “He is so sweet that he could not say no to me,” said Tiwari, who eventually excused him from the project. Tripathi suggested Rajesh Tailang as his replacement, who eventually played the role. “That is an endearing quality to possess in an industry with cut-throat competition,” said Tiwari.
Support system: Tripathi with wife, Mridula, and daughter, Aasi
A feeling of brotherhood is important, Tripathi said, as it “helps you grow”. With this sudden break imposed on humankind, he realised that everyone has been busy running around to achieve elusive dreams. “I keep giving gyaan (advice) about living life and taking it slow,” he said. “But I think I was also chasing [my dreams]. I had not taken a break in the last seven-eight months! I will take it slow now, once things are back to normal.” Then he pauses and adds: “The kind of work I did in the last six to eight years was really important after the long period of struggle. But I think I have achieved enough and there is no limit to dreaming.”
Priorities will probably change in the post-pandemic world. But for now, Tripathi’s line-up of upcoming projects is enviable. It seems he may be in even more demand than he was before the pandemic hit us. His mixed bag includes big-budget mainstream spectacles, indie films and socially relevant ones (Gunjan Saxena, Mimi and Kaagaz), besides the second seasons of Mirzapur and Criminal Justice. He is hesitant to talk about his roles but, on insistence, says that his next few characters will be interesting, especially his role in 83 on India’s 1983 cricket World Cup victory. He plays the team’s PR manager, Man Singh, which is going to be “revelatory for many”. “I think I have done something that is very different from my work so far,” said Tripathi.
To prepare for the role he not only learnt about the sport for the first time, but also met the real Man Singh in Hyderabad, which he said was like attending a class. “It was full of fascinating anecdotes and learning along the way,” said Tripathi, who eagerly looks forward to the release. For now, he is busy cooking for his family and the support staff in his society, providing essentials for the 300-odd people and reading Indian Method in Acting by theatre director Prasanna.