“When we give so much to a character, even a character leaves something inside us. We grow with every role and learn from their graph and problems. And when you learn from your character’s problems, you do get a better understanding of things.”

Pankaj Tripathi is a name known to all today. An accomplished actor with an unique style of being able to naturally fit into versatile roles, he is seen across various commercial as well as artistic movies and series. Not many know about his humble beginnings and his struggle into stardom. Born in a Brahmin family in Bihar, Tripathi worked in the farm along with his family and earned a modest income. However, he had a passion for acting, which was exhibited through plays during village festivals.

He was schooled in Patna for hotel management, yet, he kept his passion alive by acting in theaters. He shifted to Delhi to graduate from National School of Drama and used to participate in street shows, although that did not provide lucrative returns. That is when he decided to move to the golden city Mumbai, to strike his luck in Bollywood. He participated in multiple auditions had worked for small roles across television series, commercials, and movies.

His first debut in Bollywood was an unaccredited role in the movie Run in 2004. After almost 7 years of struggle, lady luck shined on him when he bagged the role in the web series Gangs of Wasseypur in 2012. He was noticed and applauded for his acting in this web series for his exemplary performance as Sultan Qureshi. Since then, there was no looking back and he was a part of many hit movies including ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, Fukrey, Masaan, Bareily Ki Barfi, Stree, Drive, Angrezi Medium, Mimi, and so on. Besides, his roles in web series Sacred Games and Mirzapur were most loved by audience.

Recently, he was awarded the Diversity in Cinema Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). True, he has the ability to transition into multiple roles smoothly and pay characters of different ages. Additionally, he believes, OTT has brought more work to actors by introducing quality content which the audience can enjoy. From having no work to being one of the topmost actors sought, Tripathi’s journey to stardom is nothing less than inspirational. Although, he says, at heart he is still that simpleton villager who loves to act. Married to Mridula Tripathi, he has mentioned that it is his wife who took care of the household expenses during his struggling days.

Tripathi’s determination and hard work has fetched the success that he today has, and his story will continue to inspire generations in future.

“To be honest, I did not earn anything between 2004 and 2010. She (his wife, Mridula) bore the burden of all expenses involved in the upkeep of our household. I used to roam around in Andheri and urge people ‘koi acting karwa lo, koi acting karwa lo (someone, please give me an acting job)’. But no one listened to me at the time. Now, when I go home, I find movies being offered in my parking lot.”

Birth Score – 3/5

Pride Score – 4/5

An impressive 7/10 Notable Brahmin Score.