Pankaj Tripathi on playing Atal Bihari Vajpayee, “Just knowing about him made me a better human being” : Bollywood News

The versatile actor Pankaj Tripathi couldn’t be busier if he tried. “I’ve completed the Atal Bihari Vajpayee biopic (titled Main Atal Hoon) and now I am shooting for the sequel to Stree in Chanderi. Stree is huge fun to shoot. It is nice to do a light-hearted horror film after doing very serious film like the biopic on Atalji,” he said.

Pankaj Tripathi on playing Atal Bihari Vajpayee, “Just knowing about him made me a better human being”

Pankaj says shooting the Atal Bihari Vajpayee biopic was a learning experience for him. “I have never done a biopic before. He was so much more than a politician. Atalji was a poet, thinker, reformist. Just knowing about him made me a better human being,” he added.

Pankaj no longer wastes his time on the sets between shots. “I’ve developed a very good habit of reading. I spend my free time reading up on various subjects. The more knowledge one acquires the more ignorant one feels,” added the actor.

The other change in Pankaj is sartorial. “I’ve acquired a taste for Khadi and Handloom clothes. People have no idea of how comfortable and how beautiful these fabrics are. In my hometown Gopalganj in Bihar, there is very large outlet for handloom material. I buy all the sheets curtains and kurta material from this store whenever I visit home,” he informed.

One of the reasons Pankaj enjoyed playing Atal ji was the dhoti. “It is such a comfortable apparel. I grew up watching my father in it. Now I got to wear it while playing Atal ji. No apparel can match the dhoti in comfort and elegance,” said Pankaj.

OMG 2 is on release for him next. But all Pankaj will say at the moment is, “It was a very enjoyable experience. The director Amrit Rai is also from Bihar. We bonded well and I think we’ve made a film that we can be proud of.”

After the release of OMG 2 Pankaj intends to take a sabbatical. “This volume of work doesn’t suit me. I need to take a vacation from my vocation to recharge my batteries,” he signed off.

Also Read: Pankaj Tripathi on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, “Nice to know there are poems and poets that Atal ji and I commonly like”