Pankaj Tripathi admits judging feminine batchmate for smoking throughout NSD days: ‘But then I realised…’ | Interview

Actor Pankaj Tripathi is now producer Pankaj Tripathi, too. The acclaimed actor has offered the lately launched net sequence, Perfect Family, which premiered on YouTube this Friday. The present explores subjects similar to remedy, psychological well being, and private progress. In a candid chat with HT to mark the present’s launch, the actor-producer spoke about all this and extra.

Pankaj Tripathi on Perfect Family

As a inventive particular person, Pankaj says he turned to manufacturing not for cash, however for good storytelling. “Content matters; the story does! Even in this (show), na maine ek rupaya lagaya hai, na main ek rupaya profit ka loonga isse (I have neither invested anything in it, nor will I take a single rupee of profit from this). Ajay Rai, my old friend and producer from Gangs of Wasseypur, has made this. I came on board to present it after he showed me two episodes. I felt this was a good story that needed to be told,” he explains.

Created by Palak Bhambri, Perfect Family is the story of a dysfunctional city household that’s pressured to take remedy collectively as their points are derailing the psychological well being of their youngest member, a 9-year-old hypersensitive lady.

‘I would dismiss mental health as faltu ki baat’

Pankaj admits that speaking about hypersensitivity and remedy within the mainstream is important. “I grew up in the village. Half my life has been spent there. The environment, way of thinking, and upbringing create a distinct kind of person. When I came to Delhi and Mumbai, I was the same. If someone talked about this, I would dismiss it as ‘faltu ki baat’, would tell them ‘do thappad lagega, theek ho jaoge (you’ll be ok if you get two slaps)’. I may have said something dismissive, because I used to think this was all rubbish. I assumed that only those who have it all have mental illnesses. But no, this can happen to the rich and the poor, the successful and the failures,” he explains.

The actor says that opening as much as new thought processes and methods of pondering has made him a greater particular person. He tells us with an instance, “When I first came to Delhi, I must have seen a female batchmate smoking and made an impression of her in my mind. But then I realised, if I watch a man smoke a cigarette, I don’t form that same image about his character. So, I was doing something wrong.”

Writer Palak Bhambri talks Perfect Family

Writer Palak Bhambri says the trick with Perfect Family was to discover all these ‘heavy’ subjects with sensitivity, because the present’s tone is an element comedy, half drama. “Therapy, as a concept, is new to India. So, a show on it is even more novel. Saying heavy things in a light way is a craft that we have tried here. At the same time, we did not want to let go of the seriousness and the sensitivity of the subject matter,” she explains.

Perfect Family has adopted the ‘pay-as-you-watch’ mannequin, releasing on YouTube, with the primary two episodes free to observe. The subsequent episodes want a per-episode charges of ₹59, just like what Aamir Khan did for Sitaare Zameen Par earlier this yr. Explaining the rationale behind this, Pankaj says, “It is a big show in terms of production and canvas. It has not been made for YouTube. There is no trend of watching mainstream grand dramas on YouTube so far. But we all use it to promote our shows and films, via podcasts and trailers. That shows the size of the audience here. So why use it just for promotions? It is a risk but an experiment.”

Perfect Family stars Gulshan Devaiah, Girija Oak, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, and Seema Pahwa. All eight episodes can be found on YouTube.