Amid chants of “Pankaj bhaiya”, Day 2 saw a packed stadium eagerly waiting for Pankaj Tripathi, who arrived late but made up for it with his wit. In conversation with theatre director Santanu Bose, he shared humorous anecdotes and kept students engaged during his session titled Nautanki. As students shouted “Kaleen bhaiya” – his character from Mirzapur – in response to the moderator’s question about his favourite role, he laughed, “Arre usse bhi achche achche kaam kiye hain!” He said his personal favourites are characters from Masaan, Newton, Criminal Justice and Gunjan Saxena, which he feels reflect his own personality.

Addressing the students of DU, Pankaj said, “Bhool toh nahi gaye hamein? Mera khud ka sapna tha ki DU mein admission mil jaaye par mere number achhe nahi thay. Toh NSD mein mil gaya. Main bhagyshali hoon ki saahitya utsav mein nimantran mila hai. Koshish karenge ki kuch prerna de aapko. Aapki umar aisi hai ki prem aur prerna ki badi zarurat hoti hai.”

The actor’s journey from Bihar to Delhi and then Mumbai has inspired many. “Mujhe chinta hamesha uski hoti hai jo line mein peeche hota hai. Jo aage baithe hain woh privileged hain, jo peeche baithe hain unhe uthana hai aur mainstream mein laana hai. Jaise ki hum kataar mein bahut peeche thay,” he noted.

When asked about his next project, students from the crowd responded on his behalf, prompting him to quip, “Inn logon ko yaad hai, mujhe toh yaad bhi nahi. Lekin yeh batao, imtehan kab hai tumhara?”

Pankaj named late actors Om Puri and Irrfan, along with fellow actor Manoj Bajpayee, as his inspirations. “Manoj bhaiya ki journey se inspire huye ki nadi ke uss paar ka ladka abhineta ban sakta hai toh iss paar ka bhi ban sakta hai. Hamari nadi ke uss paar tak koi pul nahi tha. Toh usme insaan ya toh complain karta hai ki suvidhaaye nahi hain ya phir tairna seekh jaata hai. Jab bhi life mein conflict aaye toh samjhna ki woh situation kuch sikhane aaya hai, ek behtar insan banane aaya hai,” he said.

He also delighted the audience by using the popular Gen Z slang “delulu” when asked to share a message for the generation, adding, “Koi sandesh nahi hai, aap log bahut aage hain.”

Speaking about playing negative roles, he said, “Koi sirf acha hai ya sirf bura hai, aisa nahi hai. Main duniya ko waise nahi dekh paata hoon. Mujhe har bure vyakti mein kuch achhai dikh jaati hai. Bahut human cheez hai. Main bure kirdaaron ko bhi uss tareeke se dekhta hoon.”