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Pankaj Tripathi: Budget se film chaudi banti hai, badi vision se banti hai
Pankaj Tripathi talks about the impact of scale on a film, OMG 2 credit war issue and his break from acting
Pankaj Tripathi is set to appear in the big-budgeted Mirzapur The Movie next, and it comes after his recent cameo in filmmaker Amit Rai’s Ohh My Dog, a comparatively smaller film. Having been part of both kinds of scales of projects, ask him if the scale of a film impacts the footfalls in theatres, and the actor says, “Trailer plays a huge part in a film’s appeal. If it develops curiosity within the audience, they want to see it. For bigger films, you do have to create a lot of hype but budget se film chaudi banti hai, film badi vision se banti hai.”
The 49-year-old got to shoot in Bihar for Ohh My Dogg, and shooting in his hometown hit different. “Bachpan mein jin galiyon mein cycle leke nikalte the, aaj wahaan shoot Kar rahe the. Log nikal ke apni chaton pe aa rahe the dekhne ki Pankaj Tripathi shoot Kar rahe hain. Bihar mein aaj bhi main Pankaj sir nahi Pankaj bhaiya hun,” he gushes.
Ohh My Dogg marked his reunion with his OMG 2 director, and it came amid the tussle of a credit war between the makers and actor Paresh Rawal for the 2023 film. Tripathi has a neutral stance on the matter, as he says, “Main kuch janta hi nahi hun. Jaise news se sab sune hain, main bhi waise hi suna hun. Na hi Maine jaanne ke baad kisi ko phone Kiya kyunki main ye sab pachdon mein padta hi nahi hun ki main clarify karun. Sabka apna adhikaar hai.”
Often credited as one of the busiest actors in Bollywood, Tripathi has taken things slow in the last few years, and he is not yet done. “I am still in the middle of my break. Abhi wo rejuvenation mehsus nahin ho raha hai. Abhi mujhe 15 din Jake forrest mein rehna hai. Baaki sab ho gaya, main wellness retreat ho aaya, Europe ho aaya, North East ho aaya aur abhi Jyotirling bhi ho ke aaya hun, but Nature mein jana rehta hai,” he ends.
