Pankaj Tripathi can ace any role given to him. Whether it’s a serious role like in OMG 2 or a humorous and witty character as seen in Stree or Luka Chuppi, he never fails to impress. However, his influence in the industry goes beyond acting, as he also serves as a mentor for aspiring actors. One noteworthy example of Pankaj Tripathi’s mentorship is his collaboration with Alia Bhatt on the film Udta Punjab.
During an interview with Mid-Day, Alia Bhatt revealed that she had a month-long preparation period for her role as Kumari Pinky in the film. She initially expressed her interest in the role while shooting with Shahid Kapoor for Shaandar. Shahid Kapoor advised her to approach the director, Abhishek Chaubey, and make her case for the role. Alia was determined to prove herself and demonstrate her versatility as an actress.
Alia shared her dedication to the role, saying, “I said I will work very hard and I will really prove myself but I really want to play this part. I wanted to prove to myself and the world that I am a chameleon,” Alia told the portal. She revealed that Pankaj Tripathi assisted her in nailing the diction and body language of the character she played in the film.
Alia Bhatt revealed, “Pankaj Tripathi has always been an extremely reputed and loved actor, but this was before he broke into the movie scene. He was very loved in theatre and generally reputed amongst actors. But the Pankaj Tripathi wave that came, it came after that. So I got the opportunity to get one month of his time.”
The actress shared that Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Chaubey, and she would sit down every day and work on the dialogues. In the film, she spoke in the native Jaat dialect. “He taught me to sit and speak the way the natives do. Then he made me do a lot of acting workshops, how to loosen the body, a certain expression which is dead eyes, open mouth. But there is so much intricacy inside the eye, there is so much depth and so much pain. ‘Udta Punjab’ was the first film that I kind of went method on. I just had one device to stay in touch with my family, and there were days when I was not shooting and I would not have any entertainment,” she added.
Reportedly, Pankaj Tripathi later said that Abhishek Chaubey was a friend, and therefore he readily accepted to help Alia Bhatt prepare for the role. Udta Punjab was released in 2016 and starred Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh, and others.
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