Pankaj Tripathi was born into a simple farmer family in Belsand village of Gopalganj district, Bihar.
Veteran actor Pankaj Tripathi will turn 50 tomorrow. He is among the actors who built a successful career without coming from a film family. Born in Belsand village in Bihar’s Gopalganj district, Pankaj went on to study at the National School of Drama. He began his acting journey with small roles and gradually became one of the most recognised actors in contemporary Hindi cinema.
A special connection with Manoj Bajpayee
One of the memorable stories from Pankaj’s early days is connected to actor Manoj Bajpayee. At the time, Pankaj was yet to make a name for himself in the film industry and was working at Hotel Maurya in Patna.
Worked as a hotel kitchen supervisor
Before finding success in films, Pankaj worked as a supervisor in the hotel’s kitchen. Alongside his job, he continued pursuing theatre, which remained an important part of his acting journey.
Pankaj was a big Manoj Bajpayee fan
Pankaj had recalled on The Kapil Sharma Show that he was a huge admirer of Manoj Bajpayee. When he learned that Manoj was staying at the same hotel, he asked the staff to inform him whenever an order came from the actor’s room.
Sent the best apples to Manoj’s room
One day, an order came from Manoj’s room. Pankaj personally selected the best apples available at the hotel, packed them carefully and sent them to the actor. This incident later became one of the memorable anecdotes from Pankaj’s struggling days.
Pankaj Tripathi and Manoj Bajpayee have worked together primarily in the film Gangs of Wasseypur (2012).
Told the waiter he wanted to meet Manoj
Along with the apples, Pankaj asked the waiter to tell Manoj that a young actor wanted to meet him and that he also did theatre.
Pankaj then went to Manoj’s room himself. He greeted him, touched his feet and introduced himself, saying that he also worked in theatre. After spending some time with him, Pankaj returned.
Manoj’s slipper was left behind at the hotel
The next morning, Manoj Bajpayee checked out of the hotel and left for the airport. Pankaj recalled that in large hotels, belongings left behind by guests are usually handed over to the housekeeping department.
One of Manoj’s flip-flops was left in his room. A housekeeping staff member told Pankaj, “Your Manoj Bajpayee has left. He left his flip-flop behind.”
Pankaj then asked them not to send the slipper to housekeeping and instead give it to him.
Said he wanted to follow Manoj like Ekalavya
Explaining why he wanted to keep the slipper, Pankaj said, “If I put my feet into his sandals like Ekalavya…”
Pankaj became emotional while recalling the incident, and tears filled his eyes.
Pankaj has two birth dates
There is another interesting detail about Pankaj’s birth date. His official documents and several profiles list September 5, 1976, as his date of birth. However, Pankaj has said that his actual date of birth is September 28, 1976.
He explained that when he was enrolled in school as a child, his brother was asked about his date of birth. Since his brother did not remember the exact date, September 5 was given. The date was then recorded in his school documents and continued to be used officially.
Spent seven days in jail during college
Pankaj also spent around seven days in Beur Jail in Patna during his college years. In 1993, he was involved in student politics and was arrested during a protest.
He had participated in a protest against then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav over the firing on students in Madhubani. Pankaj was subsequently kept in jail as a political prisoner.
During his college days in Patna, Pankaj Tripathi was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
These seven days spent in jail had a profound impact on Pankaj’s thinking. It was during this time that he developed a passion for reading books. He got the opportunity to observe different people imprisoned in the jail and their temperaments closely, which he later used to understand his acting and characters.
A look at Pankaj Tripathi’s career
Pankaj Tripathi studied acting at the National School of Drama. In the early stages of his film career, he received small roles. After appearing in films like ‘Run’ and ‘Omkara’, he gained major recognition with Anurag Kashyap’s 2012 film ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’. His character, Sultan Qureshi, in the film became very popular among the audience.
Pankaj Tripathi started his acting career with the 2004 film ‘Run’, in which he had a very small role.
After this, Pankaj played various types of characters in films like ‘Fukrey’, ‘Masaan’, ‘Nil Battey Sannata’, ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’, ‘Newton’, and ‘Stree’. On OTT, series like ‘Sacred Games’, ‘Mirzapur’, and ‘Criminal Justice’ further increased his popularity.
Pankaj Tripathi received the Best Supporting Actor award at the 69th National Film Awards for his performance in ‘Mimi’.
