Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai
Mumbai, Nov 29: After years of uninterrupted success on screen, actor Pankaj Tripathi is preparing for a major shift in his creative journey. The acclaimed performer is stepping into the role of producer, and in doing so, plans to significantly reduce his acting commitments.
Speaking over a phone call, Tripathi revealed that the “actor in him will now take a backseat” as he pursues passion-driven storytelling. “I will take up less acting work. If I want to produce something, I won’t act for six-eight months that year. I have been working 300 days a year. Now, I want to give only 100-150 days to acting. I want to dedicate the remaining days to producing plays and other hobbies,” he said.
His new phase is already unfolding. Tripathi’s first theatrical production, Lailaaj, opened in Mumbai last week, while his debut web series as producer, Perfect Family, premiered on YouTube on November 28. “In a year or two, we’ll do a feature film. Filmmaking is a costly medium, but I don’t want to earn a lot from it. I want to tell the stories of my heart,” he shared.
Perfect Family echoes that philosophy. The show follows a family compelled to seek therapy after one member suffers an anxiety attack. Although Tripathi came on board after the shoot was completed, he said he would have readily acted in it had the producer, Ajay Rai, asked. “It tells an important story,” he emphasised.
The actor-producer also stressed the need to deepen conversations around mental health, especially in India’s smaller towns. “People in villages take mental health lightly,” he noted.
Tripathi candidly admitted that he too was once dismissive of therapy. “If you had asked me three years ago, I would have said, ‘Therapy and all are useless things. Wake up in the morning and exercise; you are overthinking.’ But I don’t say that now. When I feel the need, I will see a therapist. If someone is seeking therapy, I will not judge them. We need to normalise it like cold and cough.”
With a renewed creative path and a commitment to bring heartfelt stories to stage and screen, Tripathi says he is ready for a more meaningful chapter in his artistic journey.