About 20 years ago, an obscure student politician in Patna spent a week in jail after a particularly intense agitation. It was this jail stint that sent the then 20-something Pankaj Tripathi down a path that won him a special mention at the 65th National Film Awards earlier this year. The award acknowledged Pankaj’s exceptional outing as the cynical and crotchety assistant commandant Aatma Singh in the much-feted Newton.

The Amit V. Masurkar-directed film was one of seven releases Pankaj had in 2017. We saw him as the hip-shaking Rangeela, Anaarkali’s working partner with benefits, in Anaarkali of Aarah; as Narottam Mishra, Bitti’s progressive and affable father, in Bareilly Ki Barfi; and as the menacing patriarch Kehri Singh, who plays his cards close to his chest, in Gurgaon. Pankaj has been in spectacular form in recent years. 

t2oS met the actor at his home in suburban Mumbai to talk about his journey from Belsand, near Gopalganj, Bihar, to an actor in demand in Bollywood.

Last year you had seven releases! Were you working round the clock?

(Laughs) I shot back-to-back in 2016. Even last year I continued to work non-stop. Last October, I shot 42 shifts in a space of 30 days. I shot for 30-day shifts in Hyderabad and 12 nights in Mumbai. I could only sleep on flights. I was in autopilot mode. More than concentrating on the character and the film, I was worried about not missing my flights. Thanks to my background in theatre, I managed to deliver what my directors wanted. I might not have had enough time to prepare for a character but I have studied acting for almost two decades, so at least I didn’t screw up in front of the camera. But now I have decided that I don’t want to work like that ever again. I am going to cut down on work.

People say that every artiste goes through a period when they have to work round the clock and I am very grateful that I have reached a stage when people want to work with me. I have gone through years of waiting for the phone to ring. I’d keep the phone in the only corner of the house that had proper network because I was afraid of losing out because a casting director couldn’t reach me. There was a stretch of four months when I didn’t step in front of a film camera.

When you have no work, you live in a state of anxiety and fear. That has gone. Maybe that’s why I have become fat. My wife tells me I have put on some weight. (Laughs)

When did you get interested in acting?

In my village we’d have a play once a year during Chhath puja. It was very amateurish. I acted in them twice before I moved to Patna to study, as my parents wanted me to become a doctor. In college, I got involved in student politics. I spent a week in jail during one agitation. And, that’s where I got interested in the arts.

In jail?!

Haan. In Beur Jail. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to the library. I had read some Hindi literature — authors like Rahul Sankrityayan and Kalidas — when I was younger, but not too much. I picked up some books from the library that got me interested. There were some members of the Communist Party of India who were also arrested along with me. I became friendly with them and, once we got out, they started inviting me for plays.

I saw a play by Lakshmi Narayan Lal in which the lead actress, Pranita Jaiswal, delivered a really powerful monologue. That had a huge impact on me. For the next one year, I watched every single cultural event that happened in Patna. I used to have a cycle and, every morning, I’d pick two or three events that I’d want to attend.

By the end of that year I knew all the theatre people in Patna, so I started attending their rehearsals. I would serve tea, clean the rehearsal space and then slowly they would let me be a stand-in if an actor didn’t come. I spent the next year or so acting and that’s when I thought that maybe I should study acting at the National School of Drama (NSD).

During this time, I also did a course in hotel management and was a trainee in the kitchen of ITC Maurya. When I wasn’t acting, I was chopping potatoes and onions. It took me three attempts to get accepted in NSD. I clearly remember the day I got the acceptance letter. It was a rainy day and a postman knocked on my door. I haven’t experienced happiness like that since. Seven years after I had discovered theatre after a stint in a jail, I was finally going to formerly study theatre.

How did your family react to you wanting to study acting?

My father is a farmer and he still lives in the village. Their concern was whether I’d be able to support myself.

When did you decide to come to Mumbai?

After NSD, I went back to Patna but quickly realised that there is no money in theatre. I could work for four months and not earn four rupees. 

I came to Mumbai on October 16, 2004. That day is etched in my memory. I knew some seniors from NSD. Most of them had told me to not bother to come to Mumbai. They had struggled here for years and told me that it’s impossible to get a foot into Bollywood. My wife (Mridula), who has a BEd degree, came along with me. So I knew that we won’t go hungry. She got a job in a school teaching Hindi and English and I started making the rounds of all the production houses.

I had one plain head shot that was clicked at NSD that I used to give out to casting agents. Someone suggested that I need to get a portfolio shot in different ‘looks’ because the photo I was giving wasn’t impressive enough. They told me to shoot pictures wearing a police uniform and lawyer’s outfit; another with a bandana and lots of silver jewellery; and, one brooding photo looking into the distance. (Laughs) 

The role I got was that of Naved Ansari in Yash Raj Films’ TV show Powder. Unfortunately, the show didn’t do very well. I continued taking small roles in TV shows. I’d be a cop on a crime show for 20 days or a lawyer for 10. I would get Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per shift. 

It was enough to keep me going. I was just happy to get a chance to face the camera.

Your breakout performance was as Sultan in Gangs of Wasseypur. When you were making that film, did it feel like there was something special going on?

Nothing. When I was reading the script, it didn’t feel exceptional. Sultan was a henchman for Ramadhir Singh (played by Tigmanshu Dhulia). I have never done a role because it will make me famous or show off my skills. When I am in front of the camera, I am only interested in being truthful. You shouldn’t be able to see Pankaj Tripathi on screen.

I almost didn’t do the film because they wanted me to travel by train to the location in Uttar Pradesh. I was playing a chacha in a TV serial called Gulaal at the time. The show paid me 10 times more money than GoW. Also, in a daily soap, even if you are a secondary character, you are required on screen every other day.

Travelling by train would have meant that I would miss days of shooting on the show and that was unacceptable! Thankfully, they managed to pay for my flight ticket and I did the film. Even after the film released, I continued to do the daily soap. I was very far removed from the hype around the film.

After GoW, there were some bright sparks like Fukrey, Masaan and Nil Battey Sannata, but the multiple releases last year really put you on the map...

I have never planned my career. Before the seven films that released last year, I was doing a daily soap called Sarojini on Zee TV. They were paying me a lot, but I was so bored! When I told them that I was quitting, the channel agreed to increase my payment and reduce the number of days I had to work, but I couldn’t do it any more. So, I quit and started looking for film work. A week later, I got a call from Amit Masurkar. Newton was a small film with little money, but it was such a relief to not be making a daily show that I said yes.

Has winning the National Award changed how the industry looks at you?

A little bit. Recently, I was at the IIFA awards in Bangkok. Arjun Kapoor, who I hadn’t met before, was doing an interview when he spotted me in the room. He stopped the interview midway to talk to me. I always thought that mainstream Bollywood doesn’t know me. Maybe that’s changing. (Shrugs) Also, I probably get paid a little more than I used to be.

We saw you briefly as Guruji in Netflix’s Sacred Games recently. I believe there are more web shows in the works for you...

I am shooting for a web series based on Criminal Justice by BBC, which was remade in the US as The Night Of. I am playing the lawyer that was played by John Turturro. The show also has Jackie Shroff, Vikrant Massey and Mita Vashisht.
There is also a show for Amazon which is in post-production. It’s a crime drama. There is also a film called Stree with Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor. I have decided to slow down and do only the films I really want to do. My calendar is full until December this year.