Pankaj Tripathi takes his childhood dream of playing a musical instrument to the next level
On screen, he slips into the role of a doting father (Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl; 2020) as easily as he picks up a gun and mouths abuses (Mirzapur). Off screen though, actor Pankaj Tripathi likes to remain grounded, and keep his hobbies alive.
It was his childhood dream to learn how to play a musical instrument and he finally fulfilled his dream through an exquisite instrument called the handpan. Showcasing his talent and giving a sneak peak to his fans, the actor recently posted a video on social media playing the instrument, having learnt in a matter of just five days, all by himself.
On how this idea came about, Tripathi recounts, “In 2017, our film Newton went to the Berlin International Film Festival and after we won an award there, I travelled across Europe and visited a museum in Poland one time. Right outside the museum, an artist playing the handpan on the streets caught my eye, and I spent about half an hour just listening to him play and recording it.”
The Stree (2018) actor says it was in that moment that the beauty of the instrument got stuck in his mind. “And I began a quest in search of it. Finally, after three long years of searching, I found a wonderful handpan here in India and that’s what you see me playing in the video,” he tells us.
While the video fetched him a lot of appreciation from his fans, the actor says he fell in love with the soothing sound of the instrument and would love to learn it properly. And he’s already going that extra mile for it. “I have found an experienced tutor in Pune, who is willing to teach it to me via online classes. Handpans were actually first made quite recently — in fact just 25 years ago. For me, my aim in life is to continuously keep learning and experiencing new things that it has to offer, very much like this new instrument I happened to have found today,” concludes the Kaagaz actor.
Aakanksha Singh, who made her Kannada film debut alongside Kichcha Sudeep in Pailwaan (2019), feels that Covid-19 ruined her chances of starring in more Kannada movies. “I still get messages from fans asking me when I will do another Kannada film. I remember after Pailwaan released — there’s this song in the film called Dorassani, which means my dear — and my fans there changed my name to Dorassani. They even declared me Karnataka crush! I feel grateful for all the love,” she recalls.
Interestingly, while working on the sports drama, Singh got offered another Kannada film, but she had to turn it down as her dates were blocked for Pailwaan. Even after its release, the actor got two more film offers, but her characters were similar to the ones in her debut, hence she turned them down. “I wasn’t just playing a love interest or a wife in Pailwaan. It was a beautiful, emotional and important role. I’m always on the lookout for such meaningful parts that would satisfy my creative urge,” says the actor, adding that working with Sudeep has been one of the best experiences of her life. “The stature he has built through his work and the way he carries himself, is amazing. He is a wonderful human being. He looks serious but in reality he’s pretty chilled out. I learned so much from him, especially his nuances and how he focuses on every small detail. The biggest compliment I got from him was when he said, ‘You are a very good close-up actor’ and I was like ‘Am I not good in wide shots, should I work on it?’ He explained that my expressions are good and I can say a lot through my eyes even without saying much, which is a good thing,” gushes Singh.
PActor