Pankaj Tripathi’s resolution: No more of doing films for dosti yaari

Bareilly Ki Barfi and Newton (2017) actor Pankaj Tripathi wants to focus on good scripts and not take up a project just for the sake of friendship.

Pankaj Tripathi, who has delivered memorable performances in films such as Agneepath (2012), the Fukrey franchise, and Newton (2017), will soon be seen in the Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor-starrer Stree. With this noteworthy line-up of films to his credit, the actor says that while he relies on filmmakers’ storytelling abilities and he has often had to regret opting for certain projects.

Actor Pankaj Tripathi will soon be seen in Stree.

“I worked with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in Nil Battey Sannata (2015) and Bareily Ki Barfi... [as] she is a very different kind of filmmaker. Anurag Kashyap is someone whose projects I can take without even hearing the story,” Tripathi shares.

The actor has scored a loyal base of fans solely on the base of his performances in Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur I and II (2012) and Tiwari’s Bareilly Ki Barfi — films that have proved the actor’s versatility and ability to slip into different characters effortlessly.

However, he has also had to do certain projects because of his equation with the makers. “Sometimes, [the] scripts are nice, and sometimes, the people associated with a project are nice souls,” he says, adding, “I’ve decided that now I will focus more on good scripts. Dosti yaari mein nahin karunga.”

The actor maintains that he does not take up projects, which he would regret in future. “It has happened many a times where I have taken a project and wasn’t happy about it. I don’t want to be in a situation again where I am sitting on a set, wondering why I am there and why I am doing the film. When you don’t feel good about a film after taking it up, spending 10 - 15 days on the shoot sets becomes difficult,” he says.

However, not one to brood on the past, he adds, “But every person learns from experience. This is the field of art, and it happens sometimes.”

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