Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi
is the epitome of versatility and humility. While he modestly accepted his star
status, he has his apprehensions if he will ever become the quintessential
Hindi film superstar.

The 44-year-old actor has left
his mark on the film industry this year as a doting father in ‘Gunjan Saxena:
The Kargil Girl’, a brazen thug in Anurag Basu’s anthology ‘Ludo’ and fan-favourite
Kaleen Bhaiya in ‘Mirzapur’ season two.

In his
next work ‘Shakeela’, Tripathi assumes the roles a fictional superstar named
Salim.     

“Indrajit
Lankesh (director) narrated me the script and I liked it very much. It was the
role of superstar Salim and I knew that I would never get to witness what
superstardom is like, so I thought why not witness it all through this
character,” the actor told PTI in an interview.

“It
was a great opportunity for me, the character is quite flamboyant and wears
colourful clothes. He is unpredictable or gives the performance of
unpredictability. It was a very fun and interesting part,” he added.

Tripathi’s career is packed
with critically-acclaimed movies and shows like ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, ‘Gurgaon’,
‘Mirzapur’, ‘Sacred Games’, ‘Masaan’, ‘Newton’, ‘Nil Battey Sannata’ and ‘Bareilly
Ki Barfi’.

Also Read | Tripathi, Pandit, Tyagi on one table as ‘Mirzapur’ cast reunites

“We all have a particular
image and perception about a traditional superstar and how lives his life and
what all he does. But I know that even if I get superstardom, I would never be
able to live up to that image,” Tripathi said.

“I’m
simpleton and even if I try, I won’t be able to do this. I can’t act in real
life. I believe that I can only witness that superstardom in reel life, not
real life,” he said. No matter how many grey or dark characters he has
played in his films or shows, Tripathi, who hails from Belsand village in
Gopalganj district of Bihar, is hailed by his colleagues and fans for his
soft-spoken and humble nature.

Asked to decode his humble
personality, he said, “It is very difficult for me to explain this… A
person doesn’t know about all the things that he carries with himself. I don’t
know where I got this humility. If I had known, I would have worked on it. I
would have amped it up further or even toned it down.Many times, people ask me
‘Don’t you get irritated if your co-star is a newcomer or is a weak actor?’ I
tell them that the person is a living being, a human first for me. There is
nothing bigger than love for me in this world,” he added.

Tripathi has a separate fan
base among memers on social media.

“In
the times of COVID-19, people are already tense as they are locked in their
homes and there are still restrictions on freedom, travel and behaviour as we
can’t hug each other still.When we deliver these dialogues, then we have no
idea that they can be turned into memes going forward. There are a lot of
creative people in the world,” the actor said.

‘Shakeela’,
featuring Richa Chadha in the lead, is set to be hit the theatres on December
25.