Pankaj Tripathi (; born 28 September 1976) is an Indian actor, who predominantly works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several awards, including two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. After studying acting at the National School of Drama, Tripathi had minor roles in such films as Omkara (2006), Raavan (2010) and Agneepath (2012), and had a supporting role in the television series Powder (2010).
Tripathi gained recognition for his role in Anurag Kashyap's crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), after which he starred in several notable supporting roles. These include Fukrey (2013), Masaan (2015), Nil Battey Sannata (2016), Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), Fukrey Returns (2017), Stree (2018), Ludo (2020), Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020), and 83 (2021). Tripathi has also had leading roles in several streaming series, including Mirzapur (2018–present) and Criminal Justice (2019–2022), and in the streaming film Kaagaz (2021). He has also appeared in the Tamil film Kaala (2018) and the English film Extraction (2020).
His performance in Newton (2017) won him the National Film Award – Special Mention and his performance in Mimi (2021) won him the National Film Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has since starred in the commercially successful satire OMG 2 (2023).
Early life
Tripathi was born on 28 September 1976 in a Bhojpuri-speaking family in Belsand village of Barauli in Gopalganj District of the Indian state of Bihar, to Pandit Benares Tiwari and Hemwanti Tiwari as the youngest of their four children. His father works as a farmer and Hindu priest. Tripathi also worked as a farmer with his father until he was in the 11th standard at school. During the festive seasons, he used to play the role of a girl in his village's local play (natak). He moved to Patna after high school where he studied at Institute of Hotel Management, Hajipur. After his seven years stay in Patna, he moved to Delhi to enroll in the National School of Drama, from where he graduated in 2004.
Career
Tripathi moved to Mumbai in 2004. His first role there was of a politician in a Tata tea Advertisement and then an uncredited role in the film Run, acted in Kannada movie Chigurida Kanasu along with Dr. ShivaRajkumar in 2003. In his early career, he played mostly antagonist roles and became synonymous with gangster characters. He appeared in various Hindi films in minor roles, including Apaharan (2005), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), Omkara (2006), Shaurya (2008), Raavan (2010), Aakrosh (2010), Chillar Party (2011), and Agneepath (2012). In 2008, he also acted in the Bahubali TV series, and later in Powder on Sony TV as well as in a few television serials (daily soaps) such as Gulaal and Sarojini - Ek Nayi Pehal. Pankaj Tripathi has delivered outstanding performances in recent movies such as Fukrey and OMG 2.
Breakthrough
In 2012, he played his first major onscreen role as Sultan in the Gangs of Wasseypur films. Tripathi gained popularity following the release of Gangs of Wasseypur films. His first film as a lead actor was the 2017 film Gurgaon, followed by his role in Kaagaz (2021). Tripathi made his debut in Tamil cinema with the film Kaala, which was released on 7 June 2018.
Even after gaining popularity Tripathi was still appearing in smaller roles in films like Dabangg 2, Gunday, Singham Returns and Dilwale.
Acclaim and awards success
In 2017, he appeared in pivotal roles in critically acclaimed films like Bareilly Ki Barfi and Fukrey Returns. The same year, he also appeared in the black comedy-drama Newton alongside Rajkummar Rao, which earned him critical acclaim, thus earning the National Film Award – Special Mention, in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. Newton was also India's official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
In 2018, he appeared alongside Rao and Shraddha Kapoor in the comedy-horror film Stree, which earned him critical acclaim and his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2020, Tripathi also acted alongside Randeep Hooda in Netflix's original Extraction starring Chris Hemsworth. The same year, he received two nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in the biographical drama Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl and the black comedy Ludo. His performance in the latter won the IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor.