Pankaj Tripathi, Actor

“I didn’t even have a bank account”

Where were you career-wise?

I had no career as such, though

I was doing some theatre and was preparing for the NSD (National

School of Drama). Simultaneously,

I had also enrolled at the Food Craft Institute in Patna.

What was your bank balance?

Zero. I didn’t even have a bank account!

Who were you in love with?

I was anxious to fall in love and was restless, but I couldn’t find anyone. Main mann hi mann gulab ka phool lekar ghoomta tha (I impatiently wanted to court a girl with flowers). But there was no one to accept that rose.

And where did your focus lie...?

I wanted to do something different, but I didn’t know what exactly.

What was your frame of mind?

My thoughts kept changing from day to day, like with any other 22-year-old. I was drawn to literature and travel.

How was your rapport with family?

I was very close to them. My Babuji was hoping I’d become a doctor, but my parents were supportive of my career choice.

What did you do for fitness?

I was a tagda (awesome) athlete. I was a sprinter and was very good at high jumps.

What was your fashion sense like?

I would pick stuff from the street market.

And your biggest dream?

I wanted my name to appear in the newspaper for my achievements.

One memorable anecdote from then...?

I was on a train, which was passing by Sonpur, where one of the biggest animal fairs in the world is held. I alighted from the train and went to the ‘pashu mela’ and also attended the theatre that night. In the morning, I returned home and didn’t tell my parents about my adventure.

Your most prized possessions...?

A bicycle worth `600 and a gas cylinder.

If you could rewind and change one thing, what would it be?

Nothing. I’ve become what I am because of the crises and daunting situations I faced at 22.

“MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS AT 22 WERE A BICYCLE AND A GAS CYLINDER”

Pankaj Tripathi posing with his wife Mridula while being clicked by his college friend Vinay Kumar during a mobile theatre play

Pankaj enacting a scene from a play inspired by Mahabharata with Assamese actress Vidyavati Phukan

Pankaj with Sunil Bihari, an actor with whom he did a play called Panchlait

In Tokyo, where he flew down to do a play. With him are two actors from the Black Tent Theatre

THEN AND NOW Pankaj Tripathi, at 22 (top) and now at 44 (above)

In Anuradha Kapur’s play, Pata Shahar Mumbai, with co-actor Supriya Shuki