'I Am The Madhav Mishra Of Acting'

'As an actor I feel I have a strong relatability with the common Indian.'
'Madhav Mishra is not a character of cinema, he is a character from and of our society.'

Pankaj Tripathi returns as his popular character Madhav Mishra in the fourth season of Criminal Justice, which is getting good reviews.

"The culture and accent, the upbringing in Bihar, the innocence of Bihar, the satire, I can easily infuse that in this character. I did not need to work on it. Bihar is part of my DNA," Pankaj tells Subhash K Jha.

What kind of relationship have you developed with Madhav Mishra in Criminal Justice over the years?

I often say that I am the Madhav Mishra of acting because he used to serve affidavits, that is, he was a lawyer in survival mode, he used to do small jobs for survival.

I came from a small cinema where I did one or two scenes.

And see where you are now.

I feel a very strong sense of belonging.

The identification is very strong; both are connected with Bihar.

Do you know that I also studied at the Patna Law College?

I remember (Writer) Sridhar Raghavan had come to narrate Season One to me, so he said, 'This is a remake of Criminal Justice Britain, will you watch it? I said I will not watch it, I am not interested in remakes.

So initially you said no to Criminal Justice?

I didn't say no. Main kaun hota hoon na kehne wala?

I told Sridhar, "For me, the original character is whatever you write. Whatever will you give me, I will interpret it in my own way and perform it."

In the original series on the BBC, the lawyer changed in every season.

Yes. In the two seasons, there were two different lawyers and different characters. But here, in each season, we visit the world of Madhav Mishra and his different cases.

The culture and accent, the upbringing in Bihar, the innocence of Bihar, the satire, I can easily infuse that in this character. I did not need to work on it. Bihar is part of my DNA.

My wife's character is played by Khushboo Atre, who is from Indore, but she is so amazing that it doesn't even seem that she is not from Bihar.

In the past four seasons, do you feel Madhav Mishra is growing, and your interpretation of the character is also growing?

Yes, absolutely. At the beginning of this new season, there is a big corporate law firm that comes to hire Madhav Mishra.

Madhav asks, 'Why do you want to take me in your firm, want to make a contract, etc.'

The corporate guy says, 'Because your face has relatability with a common man.'

Somewhere as an actor too, I feel I have a strong relatability with the common Indian.

Madhav Mishra is not a character of cinema, he is a character from and of our society.

You share screen space in Criminal Justice with some capable co-stars.

Yes. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub was my junior at NSD (National School Of Drama).

Mita Vashishtji was my senior.

The actress who plays the lady cop, Kalyanee Mulay, is amazing. I saw her in a play eight years ago in NSD. She looked very different at that time.

I had a flight, so I had to leave five minutes before the play was to end.

I took her number and told her that you did an amazing job.

Surveen Chawla is fantastic. In that sequence in the park at the end, we worked really hard to ensure the focus is on her.

If Criminal Justice has worked out so well, it is because everyone has given their best.