Versatile actor Pankaj Tripathi, known for his diverse roles, is deciding to reduce his workload. Tripathi, a familiar face in numerous mainstream Hindi films of various genres and production houses, believes he has been taking on too much and now wants to be more selective about his projects.
Pankaj Tripathi has been consistently appearing in a multitude of movies. Over the last three years, he has been part of 14 films – an impressive but demanding pace. Tripathi acknowledges that it’s time for a change and a more thoughtful approach to his work, recognizing the need for moderation in his professional commitments.
In a recent interview with Indianexpress.com, the actor said, “I have decided to cut down on my work. I realised I was ‘overeating’, itna acting nahi karna chahiye,”.
The actor said that his work is getting hampered due to an overload of work. He said doing 3 projects rather than 10 is better at least by creative process and the mind can rest. “There is a limitation in terms of how you think or perform. I can’t change my physicality, so instead of doing ten projects, it is better I do only three. That way my creative process and mind will get some rest. If I get that, I will be able to work better.”, Pankaj Tripathi told Indian Express.
Pankaj Tripathi shared an instance of his work getting mixed up. After filming Main Atal Hoon, he quickly moved on to shoot for the upcoming Stree 2. However, he was informed in a polite manner that he wasn’t portraying the right character for the horror comedy because he was still in the role of the former Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This highlights how his busy schedule led to an unintentional blending of roles, prompting him to reconsider and streamline his work commitments.
“I finished Atal and the next day I was on the sets of Stree 2. On the first day after my shot, Amar Kaushik came to me and whispered in my ears, ‘Atal ji lag rahe hai!’ I told him what do I do now, I had just finished the film in Delhi last night. So he gave me a day off and asked me to watch Stree and chill. I said de de chutti, I want this!
The actor further revealed, “I realised this is not good, overnight going from one set to the other, it was overlapping. I need a gap of 30 days. Ten days to wash out what I was doing, ten days of complete rest and be with family and the last ten days to prep for the next role. This is now a must for me.”
Not Chasing Money Anymore
After many years in the industry, Pankaj Tripathi known for famous roles like kaleen bhaiya has reached a point where he can decline work. He sees it as a privilege to be able to say that he’s no longer solely focused on chasing money.
“Earlier, there was a lot of responsibilities, so I would think let me take up work so that money comes in. Now it is a different situation, the EMIs are almost over. Paiso ki jeevan mein badi bhumika nahi hai, ye baat kehne ke liye bhi paise chahiye. Paise ho, tabhi aadmi ye baat kehta hai, profound mehsoos karta hai,” the actor told indianexpress.com.
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“Main Atal Hoon,” directed by Ravi jadhav is set to hit theaters on January 19. This marks Pankaj Tripathi’s first film release of the year. Additionally, audiences can look forward to seeing him in “Stree 2” and Anurag Basu’s “Metro In Dino.”