In his two-decade strong career, actor Pankaj Tripathi never got a chance to shoot in his hometown in Bihar, until now. The 48-year-old is currently shooting a human drama in Patna, marking his reunion with OMG 2 (2023) director Amit Rai.

“Bilkul homecoming ki feeling aa rahi hai. Mujhe apne kayi colleagues mile jinke saath main theatre karta tha. Main auditorium bhi dekhne gaya tha, jahaan hum play karte thhe. Meri janmabhoomi hai woh, toh apni wali feeling aati hi hai.”

The decision to shoot in Patna was a conscious choice: “It is a story of Patna, so we should set it here. Why cheat the audience?”

Pankaj credits the smooth run while shooting to the state government. “A film friendly environment is developing in Bihar. We wanted to show the real Bihar in a story about the state. And our DOP is from Europe, so we are getting to see Bihar from a different lens,” he shares, adding, “Patna waise bhi mainstream cinema mein nahin dikha hai.”

While the unit has been enjoying Bihar ki mehmaannawazi and local delicacies like Bel ka sharbat, the actor opens up on the stereotypical representation of Bihar in Hindi cinema.

“Cinema mein abhi tak Bihar ki maasoomiyat dikhi nahin hai. During the ’90s, there was an image about Bihar created by media and the films also propagated that. But now the portrayals are more research-based,” he ends.