I am thinking of going to Calcutta during Durga Puja this year... I haven’t been in Calcutta during Puja for many years now” says Pankaj Tripathi, immediately offering a peek into his love for the city which not only is “sasuraal” for him, but which has also shaped his life and career in many ways.

Tripathi, whose film Metro... In Dino is now playing in theatres, and Season 4 of Criminal Justice — the mystery thriller-cum-courtroom drama that he is the face of — streaming on JioHostar, has been on a career high for years, but now wants to slow down a wee bit. The Telegraph chat.

After Ludo, what was it like working with director Anurag Basu again in Metro... In Dino?

Anurag Basu is one of my favourite directors. The best thing about him is that he makes me eat well on set and tells me not to come prepared! (Laughs) What is also good about his set is that we don’t end up shooting for insane hours. Working with him feels like a picnic.

Your Monty was not only one of the most delightful characters in the film, you were also cast against type. What was that experience like?

Bahut hi achha tha, bada refreshing. As you said, it was something new for me. In fact, I had to undergo a bit of a physical transformation to play the part. More than challenging, it was a comforting, refreshing role for me.

However, while shooting it, I was in the middle of a personal crisis... my father passed away. But playing Monty, as well as being directed by Anurag dada, kept me going. I have huge trust on him — when he asks me to do a film, I don’t ask for the story or a description of my character. I just ask about the dates I need to block for his film. Managing my dates becomes a little difficult but I make sure I always accommodate his films.

What kind of physical transformation did this role warrant?

I worked on my fitness... I needed to look leaner. Monty looks different... he is not at all like Madhav Mishra of Criminal Justice, Kaaleen Bhaiya of Mirzapur, or Mimi’s Bhanu Pandey.

For Monty, we wanted a different body — as well as body language. His mannerisms and his behaviour are different. To make an internal change, you need to make one externally too, which is what I followed for Metro... In Dino. This is not my usual routine, lekin journey bahut beautiful rahi.

Despite the complicated marital equation that Monty and Konkona Sensharma’s character, Kajol, share in the film, would you count this as your most romantic role yet?

Yes it is. But I call it a “crisis romance”. Love is there somewhere, but it is buried under drudgery, fights, the daily discord of life.... But yes, this is a rare romantic role for me.

Just this morning, my wife (Mridula) and I were sitting and seeing our wedding photos. We were so young, in our 20s... with so many dreams in our eyes. I am not a romantic, but those pictures took me back to that time. How I got ready for my wedding at SRFTI (Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Calcutta) wearing a dhoti kurta... so many memories came back to me.

What was it like working with Konkona?

Konkona is an amazing actress. I was doing romance for the first time, so for the first few days, I was a bit formal (smiles). We both hail from a theatre background and are used to coming prepared to the sets. Lekin iss film mein Anurag Basu bol dete thhe: ‘Don’t prepare!’ But Konkona is such an easy actor to work with... she put me at ease almost immediately and we played off each other well. I am sure you have seen that translate on screen in Metro... In Dino.

So after Ludo and Metro... In Dino, have you got used to Anurag Basu’s unorthodox filmmaking style?

More than getting used to, I want everyone to make films like him! Too much preparation kills spontaneity, I feel. Of course, one needs to have a basic idea of what one needs to do. Be there with honesty and the work will get done. In fact, I used to go on set every day prepared with the thought of what I would eat that day... he is a big foodie and he makes sure his sets are also like that!

In Ludo, there was a scene where he just told me to look to the right, while the shoot was going on in the lower floor. I had no idea what was happening but I did as I was told. Later, when I watched the film, I realised that I was looking down at Abhishek Bachchan and he was looking up at me. That is how it was edited! (Laughs) But while shooting, I was just staring into the air without knowing anything!

And I know that you don’t see the monitor on any set anyway...

Never. I don’t even go near it. First, it is not the job of an actor to see the monitor. It is the job of the director, DoP (director of photography) and production designer. My job is to act. I also don’t look at whether my hair and make-up are fine... you won’t see me looking into the mirror on set. I tell the make-up man that his eyes are my mirror.

The more an actor sees the mirror and monitor, the more he will want to fix things. The more we look, the more insecure we will be and the more we will want to control. My focus should be on fixing my performance, not fixing my look.

I also don’t like doing too many takes. There are some directors who want to do many takes. I am like: ‘Kyun bhai? Achhi toh thi’. Aisa karne se spontaneity khatam ho jaati hain. It becomes very mechanical.

Congratulations on yet another successful season of Criminal Justice. What is it about this franchise, according to you, that appeals so much to audiences?

It has consistently remained among the top shows, and that is a big thing. The writing is very good, very harmonious. Rohan Sippy (director) surpasses himself with every season. People enjoy the series because it catches them off guard. Just when they think they have figured out something, the show throws up something new. That is also what happened with the fourth season (Criminal Justice: A Family Matter)... everything changed in the last episode and the audience was taken by surprise.

How does one play a character like Madhav Mishra and bring in freshness even while keeping his idiosyncrasies intact?

That is a good question. One, it depends on the power and impact of the story every season. I feel specially connected to Madhav Mishra because he is close to my roots. I am from Bihar and so is he. He has his own fight for survival in Mumbai, which is what I also had. Madhav’s life is like my life, and hence I don’t get bored of playing him. If it was just any other film or character, I would have forgotten him. But for me, Madhav Mishra is my second behaviour. Sometimes I improvise and add things that are not even in the script. Also, since Pankaj Tripathi can’t be openly sarcastic, I use Madhav Mishra as the medium for my sarcasm (laughs).

In the first episode of the new season, we see that he gives up the perks of a corporate legal career because of his ideals. Do you identify with what he stands for in any way?

I totally relate to this. I am very selective about the brands I endorse and connect with. My ideals and beliefs always make me look at the credibility of the project I am associating with. I can’t do just about anything for money... I have always been clear about that, and that is the kind of upbringing I have had. We are very middle-class people.

I was recently shooting in Lucknow and the film had a scene that needed to be shot in a mall. I realised that the average middle-class person looks very happy in a mall... it is a place where they can relax and have fun and forget about life’s problems, and it doesn’t cost much. I asked my director if I could use the line in the film and he gave me the go-ahead. I absorb a lot from my surroundings. As actors, our job anyway is to absorb and observe.

What are you working on next?

There is this film which I told you about. It is a beautiful family film that Aditi Rao Hydari and I shot in Lucknow. It belongs to old-school cinema... the kind of films that Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Sai Paranjpye used to make. It is a slice-of-life film but also quite unusual. It focuses on relationships, culture, humour. Then there is the film adaptation of Mirzapur. I have decided to not work back-to-back as I was doing all these years.