At his masterclass on acting, The Craft of Cinema – Character Development, at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Pankaj Tripathi told the audience, “Main khud cinema ka student hoon. Main masterclass kaise le sakta hoon.” He shared his journey from the time of appearing in just a single scene to becoming a household name.

From Madhav Mishra in Criminal Justice, Kaleen Bhaiya in Mirzapur to Khanna Guruji in Sacred Games – Pankaj Tripathi seems to be present on every OTT platform. He said, “Mujhe log bolte hain OTT kholo to tum hi dikhte ho.”

Gaurav Gandhi, Vice President of Prime Video India, who was interviewing Pankaj at the session, said, “You are not just the king of Mirzapur now, you are the king of every streaming service,” and when someone from the audience asked Pankaj about doing international projects, Gandhi pointed out that streaming services are available across the world. He said, “Pankaj Tripathi is not just a superstar in India, but he is an international superstar.”

Sharing about the moment when he realised that he has become famous, Pankaj said, “For the longest time, I had no idea about my popularity. I didn’t know for years that I have become popular.”

Pankaj added, “When I was in Glasgow and people came up to me, I realised that I had become popular. I used to shoot all 30 days and never used to go to public spaces, so, for years, I had no idea I was popular.”

When asked if formal training helps one land a role, he said, “It won’t help you bag a role, but it helps with your performance. It helps in enhancing your performance. I was watching an old video of mine, and I realised how bad I was. I kept working on my craft even after National School of Drama (NSD). I keep thinking about how to improve my work and keep observing people around me. When I see an interesting trait in a person, I make a mental note to include that trait in a character at some point.”

As the conversation moved to Mirzapur, he said that he had no idea how the iconic Mirzapur nod and ‘prabandh karte hain’ became a meme. “I believe in the economy of gestures. And in NSD, we were trained to deliver the most through whatever little we had. Mujhe bhi nahi pata tha ki woh meme bann jayega. Aaj ki audience bahut aware hoti hai, log creative hote hain,” the actor elaborated.

Throughout the conversation, Pankaj underplayed the intense hard work that went behind the making of the actor that he is, but towards the end, he said, “Aaj jo main yahan masterclass mein baith ke pravachan de raha hoon aur aap sab sune ja rahe hain, bahut tapa hoon main.”

Taking about his first break, he said, “Someone needed an actor for a comedy role, and he was told about me. Main hostel mein so raha tha aur utha kar casting ho gayi. Uske baad jaga raha aath (eight) saal tak aur casting hi na ho. Pehla break sote hue mila aur aath saal ka break ho gaya.”

The actor shared, “Main toh OTT pe bhi series kar raha hoon aur filmon mein bhi (Fukrey 3 and Stree 2). Mera bahut two-three chal raha hai jeevan mein. Jis actor ki aath saal casting nahi hui, uske pas chaarpaanch franchise hain. Yeh jeevan hai. Yeh maine apni tareef mein nahi bola, ummeed mein bola ki kisi ke saath bhi ho sakta hai.”

With popularity, the actor said he feels he needs to be more careful in the selection of scripts. “I now look for roles that have some social message or subtext. I feel it is my responsibility to do so. Black and white ko perform karna asaan hai, grey ko perform karne pe actor ka pata chalta,” he said.