Pankaj Tripathi has been chosen to spearhead the cleanliness campaign in his hometown of Gopalganj in Bihar
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 6, 2018)

Pankaj Tripathi, who rose to fame with his spirited turns in Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur and, more recently, Amit Masurkar’s critically acclaimed National Award-winner Newton, has been chosen by district magistrate Rahul Kumar as the face of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and will take the cleanliness campaign to his village of Gopalganj in Bihar.

“I guess it’s because I’m really popular in Gopalganj and the youth there are inspired by my talks as they have a connect with me. Not every home in my village has toilets. Water, electricity and roads are also issues that need attention and we are looking to bringing some changes there in the coming months,” says Pankaj, adding that Rahul and the other residents have also shot a video with him to spread the message at local events.

What else would he like to take forward in his new role in the public domain, you wonder, and Pankaj says he hopes more celebrities will come forward to spread this all-important message of cleanliness. “As celebrities, we have a social responsibility too, besides entertaining people. We must make the audience think. I come from a theatre background, so I give more importance to social building than body building.”

On the work front, the 41-year-old actor is currently filming Stree with Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor. “We are shooting in Chanderi and Lucknow. I will soon start filming for Anubhav Sinha’s Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai as well,” he signs off.