Reprising his gangster role in Mirzapur 2, Pankaj Tripathi on how antagonists today have evolved from yesteryear's over-the-top villains
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 16, 2020)

After playing the supportive father in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Pankaj Tripathi will explore the other end of the spectrum as Kaleen bhaiyya in the second season of Mirzapur. Ahead of the series dropping on Amazon Prime Video on October 23, the actor says that the action thriller has offered a menacing villain in the crime overlord without falling prey to the tropes of the Hindi film baddies of the '80s and '90s.

"Earlier, the idea of villains was limited; they were over-the-top in their tonality. With Mirzapur, Gurgaon and Sacred Games, I have explored the dark side of the human psyche in depth," says the actor, who will be seen locking horns with Ali Fazal in the upcoming edition.

If today's antagonists have gone beyond caricatures, Tripathi believes the credit lies with the writers who probe the characters and their motivations. "They are writing negative characters that do more than have an ominous laugh. There are strong backstories that define why the man is a certain way," he says, explaining that the ruthless Kaleen bhaiyya is driven by power and lack of self-worth. "He doesn't look outright villainous because you are familiar with the many facets of the man. He is a 2.0 version of Mogambo, Shakaal and Gabbar of yesteryear."