Mention his knack for getting into the skin of characters, and Pankaj Tripathi draws an interesting analogy between his character-building process and cooking. He reasons that if a well-equipped kitchen has the required ingredients, perfecting a dish will not be time-consuming. "Similarly, I have spent 46 years becoming an actor, but the process of creating a character takes only 40 to 45 days," says Tripathi as he discusses reprising the role of the dreaded don, Kaleen bhaiyya, in the second season of Mirzapur.

Considering the second edition of the Gurmmeet Singh-directed venture went on floors one-and-a-half years after its opening season, the senior actor admits it took a while to return to the universe of the crime drama. "Often, I would execute a scene, and the director would remind me how I had pulled it off [in the first instalment]. We'd revisit some scenes from season one and make the required adjustments. The look test and reading sessions also help us portray the role." Unlike actors who pore over the script, Tripathi instructs his directors to provide him only as much information as his character has. "Only if I know as much as my character does can I react to situations naturally."

Several shows have failed to hold the attention of viewers when returning for the second edition. Ask him if retaining the interest of viewers is a tough task, and Tripathi credits new-age writers for upping the quality of content being churned out. "They focus on keeping the story alive, and invest almost a year into each character and his conflicts."