Pankaj Tripathi on channelling his inner superstar to play actor from the '90s in Shakeela biopic
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 17, 2018)

Having breathed life into many author-backed roles for his films, Pankaj Tripathi is now set to slip into the part of a larger-than-life character in the Richa Chadha-starrer Shakeela biopic. And while one might assume that pulling off a stencilled role of a South superstar will not be an uphill task for an actor of his calibre, Tripathi tells mid-day he must dig deeper within himself to play the part.

"I'm trying to analyse how I would behave if I were a star. I am on the lookout for a star's soul. Hopefully, I'll find it within a week," he laughs, quick to add that he always depends on his talent to play a character before sourcing for inspiration from external factors. "There are two ways to seek inspiration. One is where an artiste looks at aspects like body language and physicality. My process is different. I first search for the [character] internally. When the internal search is accurate, the external nuances are acquired automatically."

To understand the mannerisms of actors belonging to the era, Tripathi will only need to revisit the films he loved. "The actors belonging to films from the '90s will be the main point of reference. I'll particularly notice those from the South since that's where my character belongs." mid-day hears that Tripathi has already commenced watching interviews of actors who enjoyed the limelight in the '90s. Over 50 hours of footage, particularly videos of Rajnikanth, has been studied closely. He has commenced shoot for his part in Gwalior.