From Farmer's Son To Finest Actor, Here's A Peek Into Pankaj Tripathi's Inspirational Journey
Long before he became one of the most versatile, respected and loved actors in Bollywood, Pankaj Tripathi was living a life that almost sounds like a script of a movie. It has dreams, drama, rejection and hope!
Before winning the hearts of the audiences with his wonderfully nuanced performances in movies like Gangs Of Wasseypur and shows like Criminal Justice, Mirzapur and Sacred Games, Pankaj Tripathi, a son of a farmer, used to work in farms.??
Before he tried his hands at acting, Pankaj used to work on his farm along with his father.?
Tripathi hails from Bihar's Belsand village. He grew up in the village and as a child was a part of some amateur-level plays where he mostly portrayed the role of a girl onscreen.?He moved for higher studies to Patna, where his life eventually took a turn for the best.??
He would cycle his watch stage plays.
Tripathi was in Class 12, when he saw the play Andha Kuan. The performance of the actor Pranita Jaiswal moved him to tears. He took such a liking to theatre, he used to cycle his way to watch all stage performances held in Patna, religiously, from 1994-95. By 1996, from an audience, he became an artiste.
He struggled for 14 years. He would work at hotel kitchens.?
"I used to work in a hotel kitchen at night and do theatre in the morning. After finishing my night shift - I did it for two years - I used to come back and sleep for five hours and then do theatre from 2-7 pm and then again hotel work from 11-7 in the morning," he had earlier told PTI.
He wanted to learn acting and he knew his father won't pay fee to learn acting.?
That's when he thought of enrolling in NDS, where the basic requirement was graduation. Now, Trithapi was keen to study.?He completed his graduation in Hindi literature while doing night shift and also plays in the day.
Did you know Tripathi was once jailed?
In college, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP's campus wing, and was jailed for a week for taking part in a student's movement. The small jail barrack opened up an entirely different world for Tripathi.
After completing his course at NSD, he came to Mumbai on Oct 16, 2004.?Rs 46,000 in his pocket. By December 25, however, he had only Rs 10 left with him.
"It was my wife's birthday and I didn't even have the money to buy a cake or a gift".
He didn't have big dreams. He just wanted to earn enough to pay the rent. After years of doing small role,?he bagged Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur, the film that changed his life. Today, he is one of the most sought after actors of Bollywood.
Happy birthday, Pankaj Tripathi!
