In a podcast interview, the extremely talented Pankaj Tripathi recently revealed that his acting career kick-started after he picked-up female roles in his village. He said that he used to dance on Bollywood item songs and villagers used to love him seeing that way.
The Mirzapur actor gave people a glimpse of his initial acting days when he started taking up female lead roles in his village plays. Eventually, he said, it had started with him jumping in as a replacement.
“I was in the 10th standard when I played a girl for the first time. The boy who used to play a girl had not returned from town, people were wondering that the play won’t happen that year as that boy wasn’t there. It was then that I volunteered to take up the part. But our director — Raghav chacha told me to take permission from my father, just in case he got angry later and climbed the stage with a lathi. My father didn’t object to me playing a girl and allowed me to do as I wish to,” Pankaj Tripathi said.
He goes on to add that after taking the role, his popularity amassed among his fellow villagers and he started dancing on item songs because he is an incredible dancer.
“People loved my dance and would say, ‘he dances so well. If this boy goes to Mumbai, he will oust several top Bollywood actresses”, Pankaj Tripathi shared.
As time passed, people in his village suggested him to try his luck in Mumbai. He recalls how he would wonder what people saw him to suggest the same.
“I knew Mumbai was out of sight for me and I didn’t want to go to Mumbai at that time. I didn’t know I would become an actor, it was just for fun,” Pankaj Tripathi concluded.
