In Expresso, Pankaj Tripathi spoke on a range of topics including his childhood, his journey from a small town in Bihar to cinema and the reason behind Hindi cinema’s disconnect with audiences.
National Award-winning actor Pankaj Tripathi attended the fifth edition of Expresso in Mumbai on Thursday. The consummate storyteller spoke on a range of topics including his childhood, his journey from a small town in Bihar to cinema and the reason behind Hindi cinema’s disconnect with audiences.
“If we don’t take our stories to the people, why will people connect with our films,” the actor asked.
Pankaj said cinema in the 90s and before had magic. “We used to watch characters on screen walk and talk and feel connected to them. We used to laugh with them. We used to cry with them. But there is no magic left now.
The audience is looking for relatability, and they need a sense of connection with the character. They are looking for a sense of being rooted, which they are not getting now,” said the Mirzapur actor, who also spoke about how his film Bareilly Ki Barfi recently returned to the big screen and won hearts.
“Rooted stories are the most important. If Hindi cinema gets cut off from its roots, it will always remain a problem.” When asked what he thinks of his Gangs of Wasseypur director Anurag Kashyap’s recent comments about Bollywood, especially on the issue of not encouraging originality and going after profit margins and tried-and-tested templates, Pankaj Tripathi fully accepted this assessment.
“After Stree, look at how many horror comedies were made. After a point of time, people will neither get scared nor laugh,” Pankaj told, adding, “When I asked why there are so many songs, the filmmakers said they are following the public demand.
But… which public sits and writes them letters demanding to include such songs? It is all the decision of the producers as to what they think is the formula for success. If there is no room for experimentation, people will get bored very easily,” the actor said.
In fact, taking the example of his own career, Pankaj argued, “At least once every week, I get a role like Kaleen Bhaiya from Mirzapur. But why would I want to do such roles when I am already in the fourth season of the series. It’s like the producers want to milk the cow until it kicks them back.”
The Indian Express’ six-part series Expresso, which features insightful conversations with experts from the world of entertainment, luxury, art and culture, has featured guests such as Vidya Balan, Pratik Gandhi, Taapsee Pannu, Imtiaz Ali, Javed Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Kajol and Kriti Sanon.
Pankaj Tripathi says about Bollywood’s disconnect with audiences: ‘There’s no magic in cinema anymore…’
