Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 19, 2018)

Last week, Pankaj Tripathi, the critically acclaimed actor of Newton and Bareilly Ki Barfi, returned to his hometown, Gopalganj, in Bihar, for some family time. While he was there, his friend, IAS officer Rahul Kumar, invited him for an impromptu interactive session with 300 convicts at the Chanawe prison to be overseen by jail superintendent Sandeep Kumar and Pankaj accepted immediately.

“Rahul is one of the best officers in Bihar, instrumental in transforming the social life in Gopalganj district by building 11,000 toilets in the area. He is young, dynamic and fond of literature and cultural arts. Apart from farming and fishing, he has also started a film club inside the jail and will be screening Nil Battey Sannata this week,” informs the 41-year-old actor who played the earnest principal Srivastava in the Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari directorial.

While talking on inspirational subjects with the prisoners, including the freedom movement, Pankaj recalled how he had served a seven-day term in Patna jail for being a part of the aggressive student union protests in 1993. “There was nothing to do inside but read books. I finished every classic the prison library had to offer and after I was released, I quit the student union to take up literature,” he narrates.

Going back to jail was an emotional experience as he interacted with women prisoners too, including one with a two-year-old child. “There are also highly educated men inside who have watched the best of films. It made me wonder about their life behind bars today,” the actor sighs.