Pankaj Tripathi On The Joys Of Playing The Canny Lawyer Madhav Mishra In Applause Entertainment’s Criminal Justice For The Fourth Time
By Subhash K Jha
Tell me what kind of relationship has you developed with this Madhav Mishra in Criminal Justice over the years?
I often say that I am the Madhav Mishra of acting because he used to serve affidavits, that is, he was a lawyer in survival mode, he used to do small jobs for survival.I came from a small cinema where I did one or two scenes .
And see where you are now!
I feel a very strong sense of belonging .The identification is very strong, very very strong and the history of both of them is connected with Bihar. Do you know, Sir, I also studied at the Patna Law College. I remember Sridhar Raghav had come to narrate Season One to me, so he said , ‘This is a remake of Criminal Justice Britain, , will you watch it?’ So I said I will not watch it, I am not interested in remakes.
So initially you said no to Criminal Justice?
Sir, I didn’t say no. Main kaun hota hoon na kehne wala? I told Sridhar, ‘For me the original character is whatever you write.Whatever will you give me, I will interpret it in my own way and perform it.
In the original series on BBC, the lawyer changed in every season?
Yes Sir, in two seasons there were two different lawyers and different characters, but here in each season we visit the world of Madhav Mishra, his different cases.
There can’t be anyone else playing Madhav Mishra?
I have said many times that the culture and accent , the upbringing in Bihar, the innocence of Bihar or the satire… I can very easily infuse it in this character. I did not need to work on it. Bihar is part of my DNA.
I agree, you became Madhav Mishra so naturally?
Any my wife’s character,played by Khushboo Atre, she is from Indore, but she is so amazing it doesn’t even seem that she is not from Bihar.
In the four seasons that have been completed so far, do you feel that Madhav Mishra is growing and do you feel that along with the series, your interpretation of the character is also growing?
Yes absolutely.In the beginning of this new season, there is a big corporate law firm that comes to hire Madhav Mishra . Madhav asks, ‘Why do you want to take me in your firm, want to make a contract, etc.’ And the corporate guy says , ‘Because your face has relatability with a common man.’ Somewhere as an actor too I feel that I have a strong relatability with a common Indian.Madhav Mishra is not a character of cinema, he is a character from and of our society.
You share screen space in Criminal Justice with some capable co-stars?
Yes Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub was my junior at the NSD.Mita Vashishtji was my senior. The actress who plays the lady cop, Kalyanee Mulay is amazing. I saw her in a play eight years ago in NSD.She looked very different at that time. I had a flight, so I had to leave five minutes before the play was to end.I took her number and told her that you did an amazing job. And Surveen Chawla is fantastic. In that sequence in the park at the end, we worked really hard to ensure the focus is on her.
We don’t have too many generous actors in this industry who praise other actors?
Sir, cinema is a team effort.One cannot create anything in isolation. If Criminal Justice has worked out so well, it is because everyone has given their best. From Sameer Nair of Applause Entertainment to every actor and technician, it is their triumph.
