Acclaimed actor Pankaj Tripathi has gained a major fanbase with his portrayal of the dreaded gangster Kaleen Bhaiyya in "Mirzapur", the butcher-henchman Sultan in "Gangs Of Wasseypur", and a power-hungry Guruji in "Sacred Games", but the actor surprises you by revealing that in real life is not attracted to crime drama and violence.
"I have done a good number of gangster roles in films and that surprises me as much, because I don't naturally gravitate towards action in reel or real life. My most preferred genre of films is the social drama that has both entertainment value and message," Pankaj said.
Howver, he agrees that crime as a genre helps in getting footfalls.
"There is a lot of dialogue around depicting violence on screen and whether it is normalised but it is on us viewers to exercise caution in what we consume. The genre of crime drama has been a crowdpuller for a long time. I know many of my films have fared exceedingly well too. There's a bewitching quality about how crime is romanticised on screens, which is why people watch it across the globe.
"The stories are full of colour and piques curiosity. But personally speaking, it doesn't attract me as an audience.What's the point of mindless violence if it doesn't comment on the larger scheme of things."
To sign up a project, he should love the story, care for the characters and enjoy the milieu.
"Even as an actor, when I greenlight projects, I remember the social context of the story I am telling. There's no doubt that a country as vast as ours needs more social drama on pertinent subjects. We say films change the world and yes they do. Even though entertainment is sacrosanct, films are instrumental in changing mindset's and we should collectively aim to attain larger good through films," the actor explained.
( With inputs from IANS )