Pankaj Tripathi made his debut 20 years ago with Prakash Jha’s 2005 crime action film ‘Apaharan’. He continued to play small parts for years before gaining recognition as a formidable actor. He continued to do those parts for money, but now, he feels he’s in a place where he can say no.
“I’m practising to say no. Every person should know their boundaries. Beyond that, I just say no politely. ‘Thank you, friend. This is where I draw my line’. I kept working for 16-18 hours, kept saying the actors had left and it’s just the labour left behind now. But now, I politely say no and say I’ve met my commitment for the day,” said Tripathi.
In the interview with ‘The Hollywood Reporter India’, he continued, “The story should excite me. Now, I don’t want to do projects for money because I’ve come beyond that phase now. I shouldn’t be counting the number of days left on set. It happened to me a while ago. I thought I’d made so many sacrifices and gone through so many struggles only to count the days left on set. This is very wrong.”
Tripathi revealed though he didn’t announce it, he hasn’t done a film for a year. “I went on a break for self-reflection and physical healing, which is why I’ve lost so much weight. I work out in some form or the other for two and a half to three hours six days a week. I travelled a lot too. I stayed in my village for 15 days and also spent some time abroad,” he added.
Tripathi clarified he continued to do brand endorsements during this break, along with some patchwork shoots of Anurag Basu’s upcoming romantic anthology ‘Metro In Dino’. “Anurag da’s film doesn’t get completed so easily. After editing, he feels like reworking a scene. So, I did that,” said Tripathi.
He said no to the producers, claiming that he didn’t have the time to do any more projects. “There was a lot of time. I was giving it to myself. Even in the media, I used to fold my hands and tell them not to invite me anywhere. I’d talk when I have a project coming up,” said Tripathi, adding he’s now listening to new stories and is also committed to new instalments of franchises he’s a part of.