Pankaj Tripathi is usually wary of brand endorsements, finding little joy in facing the camera for a 30-second ad. But he was uncharacteristically excited when an endorsement for a mustard oil brand came his way. Reason — it was to reunite him with his 'Gangs Of Wasseypur' (2012) co-stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Manoj Bajpayee. The actor shot for the ad with Siddiqui at a Mumbai studio in March.

A source from the production reveals, “Nawazuddin and Pankaj were excited to face the camera together after a long time. The two could not stop reminiscing about working on 'Gangs Of Wasseypur'. The shoot, conducted with a slim team of 30 and in compliance with the safety norms, was wrapped up in a day.” 

Unfortunately, Bajpayee — who fronted the first edition of Anurag Kashyap’s crime drama as Sardar Khan — could not join the duo on the set as he was down with Coronavirus at the time. The source adds, “After recovering, Manoj shot his portion separately against a green screen at home. The ad will be released soon.”