Exclusive | Pankaj Tripathi To Turn Full-Fledged Producer Soon; Talks Collaborating on 'Feature-Length Productions' Next
Pankaj Tripathi, who has presented the series 'Perfect Family', says stepping into producing would finally give him the creative agency and authorship that acting alone cannot.
Backing the dramedy Perfect Family as presenter was no one-off for Pankaj Tripathi, as the actor is now laying the groundwork to turn full-time producer, with plans to back several feature length films over the next two years.
Tripathi, among the most reliable performers in contemporary Hindi cinema since breaking out with Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur in 2012, says stepping into producing would finally give him the creative agency and authorship that acting alone cannot
The multiple National Award-winning actor tells THR India that he is likely to partner with producer Ajay Rai—who also backed Perfect Family—for his first feature project.
"What I realised through my experience on Perfect Family was that I want to turn a full-fledged producer now. In fact, over the next two years, I plan to collaborate on a feature-length production with Ajay. You’ll see that happening, and I’m serious about it. As an actor, you are always a part of a bigger world, but if you’re a creator, writer, filmmaker, or producer, you have much bigger control. Through my productions, I want to back good, meaningful stories. That’ll give me far more legroom as an artist, a lot more control on the kind of films I want to make and that’s exactly what I’ll do," Tripathi adds.
The actor, seen earlier this year in Metro... In Dino, hopes to emulate the best qualities he has observed in strong producers, starting with trust in the team.
“If you hire a director and then hire someone else to monitor him, conflict is inevitable. It’s not a healthy creative environment; no one thrives in that. I remember when I was shooting with Dinesh Vijan—he would call me casually after a week and ask, ‘Pankaj ji, how’s everything? Are you doing okay? Do you need anything?’ That’s the hallmark of a good producer: staying connected, checking in, yet still giving space and respect,” he says.
Headlined by Gulshan Devaiah, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa, and Girija Oak, among others, Perfect Family has launched on YouTube under a structured pay model, with the first two episodes available for free. The show is directed by Sachin Pathak and created by Palak Bhambri.
"I’m presenting the show because when I heard about what it aims to talk about, I knew it was important," Tripathi said about the series, which aims to explore the stigma around mental health in India with a comedic take and follows a family going to therapy.
"It’s also wonderful that today I’m in a position to come on board as a presenter because there was once a time in my career when I was struggling to get roles! From not getting cast to now producing a series is a beautiful full circle," he added.