Yogesh Mishra | yogesh@bollywoodtown.in
Pankaj Tripathi, an NSD alumni who shot to fame in Anurag Kashyap’s “Gangs of Wasseypur,” has reached a new height in the industry. He is the recipient of several awards, including the National Film Awards and the Filmfare Awards. His role in the Mirzapur web series is highly appreciated, and he has now come up with more power in the new season. In an exclusive interview with Yogesh Mishra, he spoke about the new season of Mirzapur, his view point on the people and culture of Mirzapur city, his recent meeting with the IRS, Virendra Ojha ji, future projects, and more.
Mirzapur is also the name of a city and district, but after the release of the web series “Mirzapur,” it has become a bigger brand. Any comment?
Mirzapur is a fictional story, and in the beginning, it is informed to the audience through a clear disclaimer. It’s not the real story of Mirzapur. I remember a story: I met a gentleman on a flight, and he started giving me thanks for a reason not known to me. When I asked the reason, he said, “Earlier, when I went to Chennai, I used to say, I’m from a place near Varanasi, but now I say, I’m from Mirzapur. Now I need not associate myself with popular places nearby. This is the impact of your web series.”
Have you ever tried to meet locals in Mirzapur to understand whether whatever is shown in the web-series has any relevance to their ground reality?
Yes, I have been to Mirzapur, and I met many people there; in fact, we had a shooting schedule there as well. The famous folk song, Kajri, originated in Mirzapur, so now people will come to listen to Kajri in this new season of Mirzapur. We didn’t inform the public about this, but whoever knows it will understand it.
Too much violence is shown in this series, which is not the ground reality of Mirzapur city. Don’t you think, despite being a fictional story, it may impact the actual image of the city?
Mirzapur is a sweet place with very nice people. Since it’s a fictional story and we have been clearly informed that it has nothing to do with reality, I think there is no question of relating it to the ground reality of that place.
What next after the Mirzapur web series?
My next movie is Stree-2, releasing in August, followed by Metro-2.
You recently attended Income Tax Commissioner Virendra Ojha ji’s book launch event in Mumbai. When and how did you come in touch with Ojha ji?
I came in touch with Ojha Ji almost a month ago. One of my officer friends introduced me to him. He gave me a book of his containing a collection of poetry, which was quite impressive.
Ojha Ji (Virendra Ojha) is an Income Tax Commissioner from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, but your home state (Bihar) is known for giving more and more IAS and IPS officers. Any comment?
Yes, there are many people qualified for IAS from Bihar. I think because of the lack of other industries or businesses in the state, people mostly move towards the preparation of administrative services. Except for education, nothing seems to be an option as a career there.
Despite being from Bihar state, you never went for IAS exam preparation?
Actually, I was willing to do that, but then I realized that it would take a long time and process to crack an IAS.
Then how did acting become the substitute for IAS?
Actually, acting was not a substitute for IAS, but because my interest was more in it, that’s why. I used to go to the theatre. Then gradually my interest increased in this; that’s how I chose acting as a career.
Ojha Ji is not just an IRS but also a good writer who has three books already published and is helping IAS aspirants crack their exams. Any comment?
He is a nice human being. He is a multitasking and multi-talented person.
Any message for Ojha Ji?
My best wishes are always there for him. I wish he kept on writing books so that we could read such nice content.
