This actor, recipient of two National Film Awards, worked as a farmer with his father and one of his earlies roles in Hrithik Roshan-starrer Lakshya was chopped off in the final edit. Now, he is among the most busiest actors in the Hindi film industry.
Thousands of aspiring actors come to Mumbai each year to see themselves on the big screen some day. Only a handful of them are able to fulfill their dreams. Out of those, some of them have the innate talent of acting, while others arrive in the city after studying the craft from acting schools worldwide.
Pankaj Tripathi is among those who left his home state Patna and came to Delhi in 2001 to study in the National School of Drama and later moved to Mumbai in 2004 to become an actor in the Hindi film industry. During his early years, he worked as a farmer with his father on their ancestral land and has also stated in his multiple interviews that he would have been a farmer, if not for his love for acting.
When in Mumbai, Pankaj appeared in minor roles in multiple films such as Run, Apaharan, Raavan, Omkara, and Mithya among others until he got noticed in Anurag Kashyap's two-part crime saga Gangs of Wasseypur. In his early days in the city, the Fukrey actor did Hrithik Roshan-starrer and Farhan Akhtar-directed Lakshya in 2004 but his scenes in the film were chopped off in the final edit.
Sharing details about the same in an old interview with Indian Express, Pankaj said, "I was cast for the role of a character named Subedar Kuldeep Singh. I visited Leh-Ladakh for the first time during its shooting only. Before the release of the film, I was in Patna. While talking to one of my media friends there, I randomly mentioned that I am a part of it. He got excited and asked more details. I told him about my role and about my scenes with Hrithik (Roshan). Next day news was out in the Hindustan newspaper in Patna with the headline ‘Lakshya mein dikhega Bihar ka laal’ along with a small picture of mine."
"Then I went to watch Lakshya at Ashok cinema hall there along with my wife. The entire film got over and I was nowhere to be seen. My agony doubled, not because I have been edited out, but because this news had already been published in the newspaper. I was so tensed up. If the news wasn’t out, I wouldn’t have felt so much pressure. I thought now whoever will read it will take me as a liar, since I work in a medium which has lie as its base – we have fake son, fake mother, fake relationships, fake stories...But I try my best to make it look real", Pankaj had added.
Pankaj later shared the screen space with Hrithik in Agneepath and Super 30. "I never asked Farhan Akhtar about it. While working on Super 30, Hrithik and I did have a small chat on it. Hrithik asked me whether Super 30 was our second film or the third one. He only remembered Agneepath. I reminded him of Lakshya too", the actor recalled.
And now, the table have turned. Once Pankaj's role was chopped off in Lakshya, produced by Excel Entertainment and now he is among the leading cast members in two franchises backed by the same production houses - Fukrey and Mirzapur. He reprised his character of Pandit in the recently released Fukrey 3 and will be seen again as Kaleen Bhaiya in the upcoming Mirzapur 3.
Winning the hearts of the audiences with his acclaimed performances in films like Masaan, Stree, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Ludo, Gurgaon, and Gunjan Saxena among others, Pankaj Tripathi is one of the most loved and respected actors today. He has won two National Awards also, one as a Special Mention for Newton and another as Best Supporting Actor for Mimi.
The Sacred Games actor is among the busiest actors in the industry today with multiple films and series lined up for release. These include Stree 2, Criminal Justice 4, Mirzapur 3, Main Atal Hoon, Metro In Dino, Gulkanda Tales, and Kadak Singh.
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