Nana Patekar recently talked about knowing one’s value as an actor and picking roles wisely. In an interview, he shared a story from the set of Rajinikanth’s ‘Kaala’, where he was surprised to see Pankaj Tripathi in a tiny, blink-and-miss-it role. Directed by Pa Ranjith, the film stars Rajinikanth as a strong leader in Mumbai’s Dharavi. Nana played the villain, politician Haridev Abhyankar, while Pankaj had a small part as a police officer.
Nana Patekar scolded Pankaj Tripathi
Nana said he was shocked to see Pankaj on set in such a tiny role, considering the talent he already saw in him. Speaking about it, Nana shared in an interview with News18, “Kaala naam ki film kar raha tha Rajinikanth anna ke saath. Pankaj Tripathi ek bahut chhota sa, koi police officer ka role kar raha tha. Maine dekha aur maine kaha, ‘Pankaj, tu yahan kya kar raha hai?’ To kehta hai, ‘Ek chhota sa role hai.’ Maine kaha, ‘Tu aisa role kyun karta hai?’ To kehta, ‘Nahi, aap hai, anna hai, aap logo ke saath kaam karna tha.’ Maine kaha, ‘Tu bahut bada actor hai. Hamare saath kaam karke tu bada nahi hoga, tu pehle se hi bada hai. Dobara kabhi aise role kiye na, main maaroonga tujhe (We were doing a film called Kaala with Rajinikanth anna. Pankaj Tripathi was playing a very small role, something like a police officer. I saw him and asked, ‘Pankaj, what are you doing here?’ He said, ‘It’s a small role.’ I asked him, ‘Why are you doing such roles?’ He replied, ‘No, you are here, anna is here… I wanted to work with you people.’ I told him, ‘You are a very big actor. You won’t become big by working with us — you are already big. If you ever take such roles again, I’ll beat you’).”
Nana Patekar’s advice to actor
The actor added that performers should trust their skills and not take roles below their level, as it undervalues their talent.
Pankaj Tripathi’s rise in cinema
Pankaj Tripathi has grown into one of Indian cinema’s most admired actors over the years. He’s famous for Kaleen Bhaiya in the web series ‘Mirzapur’, which won him massive fan love. Praise also came for his role as lawyer Madhav Mishra in ‘Criminal Justice’. In movies, he shone in ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, the ‘Stree’ series, ‘Mimi’, ‘Newton’, and ‘Metro… In Dino’.
