Om Puri connected me to Shyam Benegal: Pankaj Kapur as he opens up about his film journey

National award-winning actor Pankaj Kapur opened up about his journey in Bollywood in an interview with Humans of Bombay, a blog that shares interesting stories of people living in the city. He talked about his “huge break” of becoming one of the finest actors in Hindi cinema. Read on to know his story to success.

Source: Still from 'Happi'

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The 66-year-old actor started his story by talking about how he switched his career from engineering to theatre and films. He revealed that when he finally decided to follow his passion, he was rejected by the Film And Television Institute Of India (FTII) and humorously added that maybe they did not like his face. He joined the National School of Drama (NSD) and his career took off. 

After doing 4 years of theatre, the director of the theatre company informed him that auditions for the film Gandhi were taking place. Pankaj Kapur bagged his first-ever role in a film called Gandhi helmed by Richard Attenborough. In the film, he played Gandhiji's assistant and also dubbed for Gandhiji's voice. However, later he was fired from the firm due to some misunderstandings.

Pankaj Kapur said that he had to somehow provide for himself when his father told him two things. His father asked him to always make his own decision and stand by it. He also advised him to work hard enough to be the best in his profession. Pankaj Kapur kept those words in mind and left Ludhiana and came to Mumbai to follow his passion. 

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Pankaj Kapur shared that he never had a godfather in the industry or any star-like qualities. He was once introduced to Indian director and screenwriter Shyam Benegal by Om Puri and that was a huge break for him in the film Arohan. However, he did not earn much from that film and had a family to feed and did not own his own house. He was offered a role in Karamchand which he took immediately and soon had an identity for himself.

The TV serial aired on DD National during the '80s. Pankaj Kapur became a popular face of the parallel cinema after he starred in movies like Mandi, Khamosh, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro,  and Raakh for which he received his first National Film Award. He received two other National Film Awards for his performances in Ek Doctor Ki Maut and Maqbool. He mentioned that during the '80s, parallel cinema gained momentum and these National Awards changed his life. He added that it wasn't any specific film that changed his life but a series of decisions he took throughout his lifetime. 

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Pankaj Kapur, whose new web-series JL50 launched on OTT platform Sony LIV, said that it was a huge shift for him from films to web series. He was hesitant in the beginning and rejected a lot of web series that were offered to him. But when he got to know that JL50 was to be launched as a web series, he accepted that this was going to be the future where the whistles of a live audience would be replaced by binge-watchers, according to his interaction. 

JL50 stars Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur, Piyush Mishra and Rajesh Sharma. The show has been written and directed by Shailender Vyas. JL50 premiered on September 4, 2020, on SonyLIV. Watch the trailer here: 

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