Updated: August 13, 2020 8:34:10 AM
Pankaj Tripathi plays Anup Saxena, father of the character of Janhvi Kapoor in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. (Photo: Dharma Productions / Instargram)
Actor Pankaj Tripathi believes that films like Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl can trigger a thought that has the potential to bring about lasting change in our society. Tripathi, who plays the supporting father for Janhvi Kapoor’s titular character in the Netflix release, said he agreed to do the film because he liked the story.
Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is based on the life of the first female Air Force officer in India to flee during the 1999 Kargil War. Also starring Angad Bedi, Vineet Kumar Singh, Manav Vij and Ayesha Raza Mishra, the biojan of Gunjan Saxena is directed by Sharan Sharma.
In an open interview with indianexpress.com, Tripathi shed some light on playing the progressive father Anup Saxena, and worked with the reaction of Janhvi Kapoor and Boney Kapoor after watching Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
You have always been confident about Gunjan Saxena and kept saying that everyone should watch it. How were you so sure from the beginning?
I watched the movie in its rough cut. I wanted to see it with the audience when it came out. You become part of some stories that think the audience will like it, while some do you because you like it, even if you are not sure about the feedback from the audience. Gunjan Saxena was a story I thought everyone would like. It is a beautiful movie written with simplicity and is also entertaining. I want to see more fathers like Anup Saxena in our society. I became a better person after doing this role.
The film turns out to be a father-daughter story. Do you think that was a wise choice by the makers?
I search for soul and emotions in a movie. I do not pay attention to the graphics and technicality. And that soul is very strong in Gunjan Saxena. That makes it a family movie.
You and Janhvi share the kind of band on screen that is rarely seen. What do you think was the core of this grace?
Janhvi and I met for six months on a flight before we started working on Gunjan Saxena. We went to Goa. This girl stepped in and greeted me. She told me that when I sent the script to Gunjan Saxena. She prayed and promised God that she would become a vegetarian, so I agreed to do the movie. The day I agreed, the director called her to share that I was on board. I had gone to my village where there is not much internet, so it took me about 10 days to respond to the director’s message. I told her she had informed me about the property before. I would have said yes then without even reading the script (laughs).
Janhvi was the one who passed me by. I once came back from a shooting party and saw that Janhvi was already sitting there, chatting with my daughter or doing something with my wife in the kitchen. I would give her more credit for developing that bond. She is a very sincere and hardworking girl. She has a different level of maturity and sensitivity. And this band is for real, not for the movie. Now, if I am going to work with her again, where I have to work hard on her, or make her trouble or do her harm, I will have to restart myself.
How much did meeting Gunjan Saxena’s real father help you prepare your character?
I met Gunjan’s father and her family. I have adjusted his mind. I had not seen his videos then, nor did I want to adjust his physics. I believe that when playing a real character one should stick to his outlook, his internal thoughts, and not his external traits of how he walks or talks. Of course we have more supportive fathers now, but to be someone like Anup Saxena in those times was a big thing.
Pankaj Tripathi plays an army officer in Jhanvi Kapoor star Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. (Photo: Dharma Productions / Instagram)
When Gunjan tells you she’s going on a mission without revealing much, you know it’s war. Many times your character speaks in silence. What was your condition when shooting such scenes?
When I played Anup Saxena, Jhanvi was not Janhvi Kapoor to me when the camera rolled. To me, she was Gunjan, my daughter. And as true as that phone call would be to any dad, so was it to me. As a man of the army, he knows where his daughter is going, even if she does not reveal.
Which sequence do you like to shoot the most?
I liked shooting the training montage. We walked around the river Gomti, and went early in the morning to some park. I also liked the lawn scene. I loved all the scenes actually.
Your character breaks the mold of a typical Indian father. What was Boney Kapoor’s reaction after seeing you in the movie?
Boney Kapoor called me at night after watching the movie. He said, “You are a better father to Janhvi than I am.” He said he has never seen a father-daughter movie that is so true. He was very emotional and I could fully understand his state of mind. That many of my girlfriends also told me that they went to see the movie and hugged their daughters.
Read | Gunjan Saxena The Review Of Kargil Girl
How much of Anup Saxena is there in you in real life?
There are many similarities. The only difference is that the on screen Gunjan agrees with what I say, but in real life my Gunjan (daughter) does not listen to me (laughs). Every time she asks for something, I have a habit of getting it fast for her. Said it teaches her to ride when getting her a tennis court with lawn. I give more to sports to sports than to studies. I haven’t had time to spend the past two years with her. I left in the morning for shoots and came back very late at night, or 2 months straight away. I missed the time with her. Well, in the lockdown there is when I joined her and I realized that she has a great sense of humor.
Do you think movies like Gunjan Saxena are influential on audiences?
I always believe that movies do not change a person or the world. But they certainly planted the seed of a thought. It may take 6 months or 2 years, but it eventually changes a person’s thought process. The purpose of storytelling is to lay out an idea, to present another way of looking at the world. A thought is necessary to bring about change. As an actor, I believe that thinking can deliver through my acting.
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