‘People will reject your content on web if it’s not good enough’

PANKAJ TIWARI SAYS THAT THE DIGITAL SPACE OFFERS A LOT OF SCOPE FOR EXPERIMENTATION

Actor Pankaj Tripathi is a name to reckon with today. Recently he was showered with much praise for his comic timing in Stree. He’s also gaining popularity in the digital space and his latest web series, Sacred Games, is solid proof.

Asked how seriously he is taking the web medium and the actor says, “Very seriously! I recently did a series called Criminal Justice, and another one is in the offing. This platform is really interesting, and is here to stay. Just recently, I was on a flight, and I saw people watching Sacred Games. I realised that the young generation today is internet-savvy, and hence, this platform is making strides rapidly.”

Since he’s bombarded with offers, has there ever been a situation where he chose a web series over a film?

“With films, there’s the thing that [if the] box office collection isn’t there, the film is bad, but it will still be counted [in your filmography]. Here, in the digital space, koi bhi nikaal sakta hai (If you are not good enough, people can chuck you out of the project). That’s because web content can be accessed at any place, so it matters. If it’s weak, people will reject the entire thing. Usko zabardast rakhna padhega. It happened once, that the dates a film needed from me, I had already given to a web series,” explains Pankaj, who is meanwhile in search of roles that require him to do more than just comedy.

“I haven’t got bored of comedy, but the way I am getting roles of various genres in the web space, I want that to happen in films, too. There’s scope for experimentation in web, so I want to surprise myself, too, apart from my audience,” he signs off.