Mirzapur actor Pankaj Tripathi reveals his cool travel bucket list

Pankaj Tripathi is best known for his acting chops in web series like Sacred Games, Mirzapur and Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors. He also impressed cine-goers with stellar acts in recent films Mimi and 83. In an exclusive conversation with the Free Press Journal, the actor talks about his upcoming projects, passion for travelling and much more. Excerpts:

How do you look at your filmy journey?

My journey so far has been fruitful. But now I am deciding not to take much work. I have signed a lot of films. Hereafter, I am going to do four to five films per year. So I will work for eight months, and for the remaining four months I will go off travelling. I am passionate about exploring Mother Earth.

Do you have any pressures while choosing a script?

I never took any pressure while selecting films at all. I like to choose interesting and exciting scripts.

Tell us about your upcoming films.

A few projects are completed and ready to release. There are some that haven’t started shooting yet, like Bachchan Pandey, OMG 2 (both are with Akshay Kumar) and Fukrey 3. Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK’s series is complete. It is not yet titled. I am not allowed to reveal much. My film called Sherdil is complete. All these films are unique and well-written. They have wonderful, amazing scripts. I am waiting eagerly to see how the audience reacts to them.

Will you work in Hollywood films?

If I get to work in Hollywood, why not? But, I have not thought it over. If they approach me, I will undeniably work, but I will not approach them.

Where will you travel?

I want to travel all over India. I have travelled about 60 to 70 per cent of India. A little bit of North East (Arunachal Pradesh) and also Gujarat is yet to be explored. I have been to Surat and Kutch. I will also visit Gir Forests. In the South, I wish to visit Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Basically, I will go to the places I haven’t been to. I also love to travel globally. I have travelled half of Europe. Worldwide travelling will also be done soon. Life is to learn and know about this earth.

What do you learn while travelling?

Whenever you travel, the culture of that place helps us take away a few things. I don’t look at an individual and hold him in my memories. But I imbibe the culture and other things as a whole. Travelling enriches the philosophy of life. It brings in changes when you visit and see more and more places. Whatever you understand from that landscape and culture of a particular place, it enriches your knowledge and also helps in your personality development. You absorb the good things of varied countries/cities. Definitely, being in the profession of acting it may also help me while performing any character. I can use all these learnings in my craft.

What kind of biopic would you like to act in?

I wish to play someone who may have brought socially relevant changes in nature — to water bodies like rivers, the sea or forest. I am closely connected to nature and also keen on uplifting it.

Being an actor, you are an inspiration to countless fans. Are you doing any work bringing about social awareness, especially amongst youth?

I’m the icon of Bihar. Mein chunav ayog se juda hoon. Chunav se juďe jagrukta abhiyan mein bhag leta rehta hoon. Maine matdata jagrukta ke tehad 18 varsh ke aayu ke yuvaon ko matdata list mein shamil kiya hai. They have gotten voters ID. (I am associated with the election commission’s awareness campaign. I have taken the responsibility of bringing about awareness of voting amongst the youth in Bihar. Those who turn 18 are enrolled on the voters’ list.)