Filmmaking demands hard work, says Pankaj Tripathi

Pankaj Tripathi, famed for his refined acting abilities and diverse unconventional performances, opened up on what goes behind filmmaking and emphasised the challenges that actors face. In an interview with a top news organisation, Tripathi pointed out that there is much confusion and misconception about the film industry and film fraternity, particularly fuelled by updates posted on social media.

“People think there is a lot of fun happening in the film industry just because actors make their PR machinery to their fun footage like spotted at an event and airport. People think actors have dreamy lives," the actor said.

Tripathi went on to detail the difficulties he faced while shooting the soon-to-be-released biopic ‘Main Atal Hoon’ in which he wears prosthetics to resemble late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The National Award-winning actor said, “Shooting is a very difficult task. For the film ‘Main Atal Hoon’, I had to do prosthetic makeup on my face and nose. There is a rule in prosthetic makeup that you should stay at least 22 degrees or beyond the temperature zone so, that you don't sweat. Otherwise, the prosthetic will start melting and due to which actors get distracted.”

“I shot with prosthetics in 46-degree temperature in Lucknow. I was shooting for 12 hours straight. And when there are so many problems happening in your body then it gradually affects your mind. It also affects your performance. For me, I didn’t want this problem to show in my performance,” the actor said.

He added, “As it’s Atal ji’s film, you can’t make any improvisation in it. You can only play with posture and gesture, not with his speech and dialogues. Filmmaking is all about hard work. Cinema demands hard work, not like what’s shown on ‘Instagram’. There are gruelling 12-hour shots for which we have to arrive on sets one or hour an hour prior. It’s not an easy task as it seems to be.”