Pankaj Tripathi, Zakir Khan, and Dr Vikas Divyakirti recently appeared on the Kapil Sharma-hosted Netflix comedy show The Great Indian Kapil Show. During the episode, the trio reflected on their lives and student days, while Pankaj spoke about how he always believed destiny had bigger plans for him. Recalling his days working at a hotel, the actor shared how he would peel onions and potatoes while questioning whether he was destined to spend his life doing such work. The Mirzapur actor also revealed that he had received offers to enter politics after finding fame.
Pankaj Tripathi recalls working at a hotel
During a candid chat on Kapil Sharma’s show, Pankaj Tripathi interacted with an audience member who asked if he aspired to do something else when he was a student. Pankaj replied, “I wanted to be a student leader, but the police beat me so badly that I changed my mind that very day. I even worked at a hotel for two years, peeling onions and potatoes. I felt my destiny was elsewhere and not this. Eventually, I got into acting, so these things happen naturally; let it take its course.”
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When Navjot Singh Sidhu asked Pankaj about making his mark in the industry as an outsider, and if he credited the OTT space for helping him grow, the actor said, “I agree that OTT helped outsiders make a name for themselves. We all belong to ordinary families, but in this democratic space we got opportunities and worked hard to earn our places. This possibility exists for every kid in India, and of course new mediums emerge, so new opportunities open up.”
Pankaj Tripathi also shared he was invited to join politics after he became famous. While talking to Kapil Sharma, the actor shared, “Someone asked me once if I wanted to join politics, but I said I was not interested. I said my acting job was just running fine; why do they want to shut it down? It’s a massive responsibility. Serving the public is a serious business. And it’s not easy.”
In 2020, during an interaction at Express eAdda, Pankaj Tripathi expressed similar views, saying, “I have worked so hard to be an actor, and now people recognise me as an actor. It would seem a bit strange if I shifted careers from abhineta (actor) to neta (politician). But politics does have the ability to effect change that can impact the lives of people directly. I don’t know, maybe, in the future, if the opportunity presents itself.”