Pankaj Tripathi: “I Was Running Too Fast, Lockdown Has Given Me  Much Needed Respite”

Though the Lockdown is  no reason to be happy,  actor Pankaj Tripathi has taken these last two months  in his stride  and is , in fact, most grateful for the break.

“See, Sir,  success  came late to me,” Pankaj  explains. “I began getting good work quite late in my career. So it was impossible  for me to say  no to the  offers  that came my way.Jo bhi mila maine  haan keh diya(I said yes  to  everything). Consequently I was overloaded with  work. I was  just running from shooting to shooting. I  hardly had time for myself and my  family,” confesses Pankaj.

He says  the lockdown has  slowed him down in a  good way. “I am getting to spend time with my wife, daughter  and dog for the  first time  in  years. I finally got to  know my daughter well. I never knew she had such a  great sense of   humour. And she was homeschooling on her own . She  didn’t  need our  help. Now she has her vacation and all three of us are enjoying our home .We  bought  our  home in Madh Island  recently  and  I  had  still not got a chance to  feel at home . Now I am so house-proud. We’ve lots of space  and peace. The view  from our home  offers acres of greenery. I feel blessed. I wouldn’t exchange this life for anything.”

Pankaj has also caught up on a  lot of reading.  “ I read  a biography on  Nargisji which I really enjoyed and  there’re so many books to read. One  lifetime is   not enough for them. So am I fed up of the lockdown? Am I anxious  to return to  work? Not at all. This is Mother Nature’s  way  of telling us it is  time to  slow  down . Our universe is  rebooting.And this pause was  required. No I am  not complaing at  all.”

Only one thing distresses Pankaj. “When I see all those migrant  workers walking for miles without  food and shelter I feel bad. This  pandemic has hit a  section of our people very hard. I hope it will soon be over.”

As far as Pankaj’s work is concered  he has suffered  some setbacks. “Three of my  films Kargil Girl, Ludo and Sandeep Pinky Faraar were  to open in April and May. Now I don’t when they will release. I also have ten days  of shooting left  for  the second season of my webseries  Criminal  Justice. Mirzapur 2  is  in editing.My  character in  Mirzapur  was  surprisingly  popular.The memes  and  the  tweets asking for his  return haven’t stopped Pataa nahin kab hoga!  But  these are such minor  issues compared with what we  are going through.”

Pankaj also had plans to visit his hometown in Bihar to celebrate Ramnavmi  in April.  “I hope to make it next year,” the actor  promises  himself.