Pankaj Tripathi: Once Nawazuddin bhai and I visited National School of Drama at 6 in the morning, to relive nostalgia
During his recent visit to Delhi, actor Pankaj Tripathi made an impromptu stop at the National School of Drama, which he credits for his success.
When actor Pankaj Tripathi comes to Delhi, he cannot not visit the one place that holds his heart — National School of Drama (NSD). The theatre institute that was a part of his growing up years, and sculpted him into an actor par excellence is more than “special” for him. On his recent trip to the Capital, though he was short on time yet squeezed in an “impromptu” stopover to his alma mater and shares that every time he’s in the city “it’s a must” for him to pay his regards to this mecca of theatrics. “If I come to Delhi, even if it’s for only two hours, it’s just not possible that I don’t come to the NSD campus,” he says with his signature grin.
#CampusKeDin: Nostalgia with Nawaz
Though he shot to fame with his power packed acting in OTT shows such as Mirzapur and Sacred Games, but it’s the stage at NSD that he credits his success to. “Dilli mein aakar yahaan na aayein toh mann nahi lagta... Mujhe yaad hai ek din subaah subaah main aur Nawaz sir shoot kar rahe thay Ghaziabad border pe,” says the 48-year-old recalling an old shoot with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and adds, “We left the hotel at 6am and at 6.20am entered the gates of NSD (in Mandi House). Neem ke ped ke neeche aadha ghanta khade rahe, sirf jhaadu lagane wale karmchaari aaye huye thay tab... Humne tab bhi nostalgia jeeya.”
Such is his attachment with his alma mater that just the name of the place makes Tripathi emotional. “I owe a lot to NSD. Humesha lagta hai main jo bhi bana hoon, iss mahaul ne banaya hai. I don’t need any permissions to come here or even any announcements. Like now, I came aise hi and they said aa gaye ho toh tumhara istemaal karte hain, they took me to some event on-campus during the Bharat Rang Mahotsav.”
Guruji’s gyaan on acting
His intense dialogue delivery and comic timing has garnered him much fame. Ask him if acting really be taught, and he responds, “Acting bilkul sikhaayi jaa sakti hai. Even if one is a born actor, there are certain emotions in cinema and on the stage where we have to use some reference. Someone has written it, you haven’t experienced it yet. To create that from scratch, training is required,” he explains.
Inspo for Bahubali Tripathi
Among the numerous instances in his professional life that have linkages with NSD is his path-breaking portrayal of one of the most popular characters, Akhandanand Tripathi in the Mirzapur web series. But do you know that this too has an NSD connect? Tripathi reveals: “Kaleen bhaiya (his role in the series) Mirzapur wale, jo nod karte hain, jispe itne popular memes ban gaye hain, voh humari class ke ek teacher ne bola tha: ‘Through minimum, create maximum’. Woh yaad karke kiya tha maine. Economy of gesture hona chahiye. You have to spend less to tell more. Neatness in performance is something I learned from my teachers here, like Anuradha (Kapur; former director of NSD) ma’am and Prasanna (Heggodu; playwright) sir.”
