Pankaj Tripathi laments OTT entering 'opening day figure' race as well: 'Isko bhi cinema banaane wale hain'

Pankaj Tripathi, Shweta Basu Prasad, and Aditya Gupta from the upcoming Disney+ Hotstar show Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach open up about the streaming scene in India.

Pankaj Tripathi is one of the most prolific ‘leading men’ in the OTT scene currently. The actor will appear in the third season Mirzapur sometime next year but before that, he will be seen reprising another role--lawyer Madhav Mishra, in the third season of Criminal Justice. Days before the show begins streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, Pankaj and his two co-actors Shweta Basu Prasad and Aditya Gupta spoke to Hindustan Times about the show, how OTT has transformed content, and the future of Indian entertainment industry.

Pankaj Tripathi in a still from his upcoming show Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach.

Pankaj Tripathi is returning to play Madhav Mishra for the third time in the Criminal Justice series. The actor shares that getting back into the character’s skin isn’t challenging but remembering complex legal jargon is. “The tough part is remembering the lines,” Pankaj shares, adding, “Madhav Mishra is very similar to me. In fact, it’s me 10-12 years ago. So getting into the character isn’t that difficult. But I can’t remember the lines. That’s a genuine problem and that is what requires a lot of hard work. The thing is I like to say my lines in the form of a conversation. Sometimes, I make slight changes on the spot. But here, in court, there are legal terms and you can’t improvise. So, it is tough but then that is what you are hired for.”

Taking on Pankaj in the show as the prosecutor this time is Shweta Basu Prasad, who describes her character as the antithesis of Madhav. “She is a South Bombay girl, very different from Madhav’s roots,” says Shweta. The actor says coming into an established franchise with an actor of Pankaj’s caliber was challenging and exciting at the same time. “This is the second time I am working with Pankaj ji. I enjoy it a lot because just by observing him on set, I learn. It’s not very daunting but very exciting. We are artistes because we want to experience new things and grow. So, it’s very exciting because as an actor, your work is more reaction than action. It’s good to be challenged as an actor from time to time,” she says.

Shweta Basu Prasad and Pankaj Tripathi play opposing lawyers in Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach.

Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach, as the show is titled, sees Madhav defend a minor boy accused of killing his step sister, a popular child actor. Newcomer Aditya Gupta plays the accused Mukul on the show. “It’s very different than the first two seasons. The writers have done a fabulous job in that. As an actor, it makes your job easier. The biggest challenge was to be in that zone for so long. Because it’s such an emotionally-conflicted character, especially when we were shooting the court scenes, it was difficult,” says the young actor.

Pankaj admits that he is now considered a leading man in projects, which was not possible in theatrical films, and he chalks it down to the proliferation of OTT in India. “OTT has changed things so much. Here, stories are important. Budget and opening are not important. Here, people look at content, performance, direction, cinematography.” But he does fear for the future of this medium as well. “We didn’t have the concept of opening day numbers here. But now, I see some digital organizations have begun rankings here too for most viewed shows etc. So, I wonder will this also have opening day figures after some days? Isko bhi cinema jaisa banaane wale hain ab (They are making it similar to cinema).”

Between Mirzapur and Criminal Justice, Pankaj has played two characters now for the better part of four years, and the actor admits complacency can set in. “With me, there is some added on experience and it’s the third season so you feel ‘chalo yaar ho jayega (it is no big deal)’. I would be prepared but there is that casualness sometimes. But I saw my co-stars and the level of preparedness they had, the involvement they had in the scene and I was a fan,” he says. Elaborating on his learnings from his juniors in the industry, Pankaj says, “Actors who expand the craft are regularly increasing in the fraternity. This is good that the coming generation will perform even better and that will take cinema and storytelling further. And when you are experienced, you can get complacent. I get to cross check myself when I look at them and their hard work and preparation.”

Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach also stars Purab Kohli, Swastika Mukherjee, Gaurav Gera, and Deshna Dugad. Directed by Rohan Sippy, the show will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar from August 26. The actor will be seen next in the Prime Video series Gulkanda Tales, which also stars Kunal Kemmu and Patralekha, and will then be seen in the film OMG 2 – Oh My God! 2, alongside Akshay Kumar.