Pankaj Tripathi

Pankaj Tripathi (born 28 September 1976) is an Indian actor, who predominantly works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several awards, including two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. After studying acting at the National School of Drama, Tripathi had minor roles in such films as Omkara (2006), Raavan (2010) and Agneepath (2012), and had a supporting role in the television series Powder (2010).
Tripathi gained recognition for his role in Anurag Kashyap's crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), after which he starred in several notable supporting roles. These include Fukrey (2013), Masaan (2015), Nil Battey Sannata (2016), Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), Fukrey Returns (2017), Stree (2018), Ludo (2020), Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020), and 83 (2021). Tripathi has also had leading roles in several streaming series, including Mirzapur (2018–present) and Criminal Justice (2019–2022), and in the streaming film Kaagaz (2021). He has also appeared in the Tamil film Kaala (2018) and the English film Extraction (2020).
His performance in Newton (2017) won him the National Film Award – Special Mention and his performance in Mimi (2021) won him the National Film Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has since starred in the commercially successful satire OMG 2 (2023).
Early life
Tripathi was born on 28 September 1976 in a Bhojpuri-speaking family in Belsand village of Barauli in Gopalganj District of the Indian state of Bihar, to Pandit Benares Tiwari and Hemwanti Tiwari as the youngest of their four children. His father works as a farmer and Hindu priest. Tripathi also worked as a farmer with his father until he was in the 11th standard at school. During the festive seasons, he used to play the role of a girl in his village's local play (natak). He moved to Patna after high school where he studied at Institute of Hotel Management, Hajipur. After his seven years stay in Patna, he moved to Delhi to enroll in the National School of Drama, from where he graduated in 2004.
Career
Tripathi moved to Mumbai in 2004. His first role there was of a politician in a Tata tea Advertisement and then an uncredited role in the film Run, acted in Kannada movie Chigurida Kanasu along with Dr. ShivaRajkumar in 2003. In his early career, he played mostly antagonist roles and became synonymous with gangster characters. He appeared in various Hindi films in minor roles, including Apaharan (2005), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), Omkara (2006), Shaurya (2008), Raavan (2010), Aakrosh (2010), Chillar Party (2011), and Agneepath (2012). In 2008, he also acted in the Bahubali TV series, and later in Powder on Sony TV as well as in a few television serials (daily soaps) such as Gulaal and Sarojini - Ek Nayi Pehal. Pankaj Tripathi has delivered outstanding performances in recent movies such as Fukrey and OMG 2.
Breakthrough
In 2012, he played his first major onscreen role as Sultan in the Gangs of Wasseypur films. Tripathi gained popularity following the release of Gangs of Wasseypur films. His first film as a lead actor was the 2017 film Gurgaon, followed by his role in Kaagaz (2021). Tripathi made his debut in Tamil cinema with the film Kaala, which was released on 7 June 2018.
Even after gaining popularity Tripathi was still appearing in smaller roles in films like Dabangg 2, Gunday, Singham Returns and Dilwale.
Acclaim and awards success
In 2017, he appeared in pivotal roles in critically acclaimed films like Bareilly Ki Barfi and Fukrey Returns. The same year, he also appeared in the black comedy-drama Newton alongside Rajkummar Rao, which earned him critical acclaim, thus earning the National Film Award – Special Mention, in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. Newton was also India's official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
In 2018, he appeared alongside Rao and Shraddha Kapoor in the comedy-horror film Stree, which earned him critical acclaim and his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2020, Tripathi also acted alongside Randeep Hooda in Netflix's original Extraction starring Chris Hemsworth. The same year, he received two nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in the biographical drama Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl and the black comedy Ludo. His performance in the latter won the IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2021, for a second consecutive year, Tripathi received two nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his widely acclaimed performances in the comedy-drama Mimi and the biographical sports drama 83, winning the award for Mimi. His performance in Mimi also earned him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.
TV career
He also starred in leading roles in the 2018 Amazon Prime's web series Mirzapur (season 1 and 2) and the 2019 Netflix web series Sacred Games. He also appeared in the 2019 TV series Criminal Justice as a lawyer. He also appeared in Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors in 2020 and Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach in 2022 reprising his role from season 1.
He is set to appear as the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the upcoming biopic Main Atal Hoon, releasing in 2023. He is also seen in OMG 2 alongside Akshay Kumar and will also be seen in Fukrey 3 in 2023.
Personal life
Tripathi met his future wife Mridula during a wedding ceremony in 1993 when they were both in college and then got married on 15 January 2004. They moved to Mumbai after their marriage, and in 2006, had a daughter named Aashi Tripathi.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
1976 births
Living people
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Male actors from Bihar
Best Supporting Actor National Film Award winners
Indian male television actors
Indian male stage actors
People from Gopalganj district, India
National School of Drama alumni
21st-century Indian male actors
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Special Mention (feature film) National Film Award winners
Screen Awards winners