Pankaj Jha, who played Vidhayak Ji in TVF’s Panchayat series, revealed in an interview with Digital Commentary that he was initially chosen for the role of Sultan Qureshi in Gangs of Wasseypur before losing it to Pankaj Tripathi. Gangs of Wasseypur, directed by Anurag Kashyap, is highly praised by both audiences and critics.
Sultan Qureshi is a key character in Gangs of Wasseypur. Pankaj Jha was originally chosen for the role, but Pankaj Tripathi ended up playing it. Jha had previously worked with Kashyap on Gulaal and Black Friday, but not on this film. Jha explained that he got the offer while shooting in Patna and told Kashyap he would return in two days. However, by the time he came back, Pankaj Tripathi had already been cast as Sultan.
The hosts asked Jha if industry politics bothered him. The Black Friday actor said he wasn’t affected by it and that letting it hurt him would mean the ‘backstabbers’ won. When asked if playing Sultan could have changed his career like it did for Pankaj Tripathi, Jha said he was happy with his current situation and didn’t want to look back.
Pankaj called himself a ‘director-making actor.’ He said that films like Satya and Gulaal create actors and directors. “While films like Satya and Gulaal create actors, they also make directors. But there are so many timid and spineless people here that they can’t even keep their word.” Later, he added that now he held no resentment towards Anurag Kashyap. “Nevertheless, I still love Anurag very much and have no complaints against anyone.”
Pankaj Jha, who studied at the National School of Drama (NSD), shot to fame for his role as Vidhayak Chandrakishore Singh in the comedy series Panchayat. He started his career in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (2001) and appeared in other films like Company (2002), Matrubhoomi (2003), Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003), and Anwar (2007).
Comments
0 comment