- By Aarushi Raina
- Sun, 01 Jun 2025 09:36 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pankaj Tripathi created a buzz with his return as defence lawyer Madhav Mishra in the fourth season of Criminal Justice. With his acting skills, he has etched his name in the film industry with performances across diverse genres. He also received the Best Supporting Actor award at the 69th National Film Awards for his performance in the film Mimi, which also starred Kriti Sanon. But did you know he initially refused to do the movie? Yes, you read that right. Recently, Pankaj revealed how his wife convinced him to take the opportunity. Her encouragement undoubtedly helped him garner great recognition.
Pankaj Tripathi recently graced the IMDb’s segment The Essential Guide, where he talked about his career and his mention of the Mimi movie caught his attention.
Talking about the movie, he revealed how he didn't want to do Mimi at first but also shared the reason behind eventually taking the role. He said, “I initially didn’t want to do Mimi. Dinesh Vijan and Laxman Utekar called my wife, asking her to convince me. I gave in and did the film. It was a great experience to be a part of this movie that is amongst the most viewed films on OTT. Kriti and I both received National Awards for the film. It wasn’t just a supporting role, it was something else altogether."
Pankaj Tripathi has been in the industry for the last two decades. He made his debut in the movie Run in 2004 with a short role. After his entr into Bollywood, the actor got a breakthrough performance and was given lead roles in movies such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Newton, and Gurgaon. He also talked about how his versatility was accepted by the industry from acting the aggressive role of Sultan Qureshi in Gangs of Wasseypur to friendly man Sandhya Ji in Masaan.
In the same interview, he stated, “Neeraj Ghaywan helped me change my image from an aggressive man which I had got through Gangs of Wasseypur. People were surprised through Masaan that I can play a soft character as well. Both films – Gangs of Wasseypur and Masaan helped the industry realise that I am a versatile actor. Then Nil Battey Sannata helped the industry understand that I can even play a comic role too. I played a sincere school principal who wanted to help students move ahead in life. The film is a serious comedy. It was Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s first film. She gave me the freedom to play the character the way I want and thus people got acquainted with the fact that I can do comedy as well."
About Mimi movie: The film is helmed by Laxman Utekar, the story is about Mimi, a young woman with dreams of stardom, who becomes a surrogate mother, but when the biological parents back out due to the child's Down syndrome diagnosis, she decides to raise the child herself, facing numerous challenges along the way. Kriti Sanon played the central role alongside Manoj Pahwa, and Supriya Pathak in pivotal roles. The movie skipped the theatrical release and instead premiered directly on OTT platform Netflix on July 30, 2021.
Talking about his latest release, Pankaj Tripathi's series Criminal Justice Season 4, was released on JioHotstar on May 29th, 2025. Upon its release, it created a buzz because the makers released three episodes from the season instead of all eight at once. Reportedly, the remaining five episodes will air weekly. Besides Tripathi, the courtroom drama series also stars Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla, Mita Vasisht, Asha Negi, Shweta Basu Prasad, Khushboo Atre and Barkha Singh.