Pankaj Tripathi Recalls Eating Insects, Changing His Father's Surname, And Strange Audition With RGV

Pankaj Tripathi is going to be next seen in the much-awaited film, Main ATAL Hoon, which is a biographical drama based on the life of India's former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The film is directed by Ravi Jadhav, whose previous works include movies like Balgandharva, Balak-Palak, Timepass, Timespass 2, and more.

The trailer of the film, Main ATAL Hoon has garnered immense love from the netizens, as Atal Bihari Vajpayee is one of the most loved and respected politicians in the history of this country. The film's promotions have reportedly begun after Pankaj Tripathi appeared in the latest episode of Rajat Sharma's Aap Ki Adalat and took a trip down memory lane.

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Pankaj Tripathi recalled the time when he ate insects from a river

In his conversation with Rajat Sharma on Aap Ki Adalat, Pankaj Tripathi recalled his childhood days in Belsand village in Bihar, when he used to learn to swim in the river. The actor revealed how some of the kids in the village fooled him by telling him that if he wanted to learn to swim, he needed to eat black insects that were floating atop the river. Pankaj Tripathi admitted that he was just a young kid back then and wanted to learn to swim. Hence, he ate the insects, but luckily, his stomach didn't get upset. He said:

"I wanted to learn swimming. We had a river behind our house. The river water has small black insects swimming on top of it. So, the kids in the village, they are very naughty, they told me that if I drink these insects I will learn swimming. So, I picked up 10-12 of those insects and drank them with the water. I am thankful that my stomach didn't get upset."

Pankaj Tripathi reveals why he changed his father's surname from 'Tiwari' to 'Tripathi'

In the same conversation, Pankaj Tripathi shared another interesting anecdote from his memory lane, which was about his surname. The actor revealed that 'Tiwari' is his original surname, but because back in time, most of the people in his village with 'Tiwari' as their surname were priests or farmers, he decided to change it. The actor revealed that he chose the surname, 'Tripathi', as most of the people with 'Tripathi' surname were government officers or professors.

Pankaj Tripathi further added that he changed his father's surname from 'Tiwari' to 'Tripathi' in order to avoid rejection of his class 10th admit card form. Thus, in order to cement his surname as Tripathi, he changed his father's surname too. The revelation left everyone in splits. Recalling the same, he said:

"My uncle would use the surname Tripathi and he had become an officer in the government. There was also one Baba who had Tripathi surname, he became a professor of Hindi. Those who had my surname, Tiwari, they all were either priests or were doing farming. So, I thought this is because of the surname. I didn't want to become farmer or a priest. So I wrote my name as Tripathi in the form. But then I thought I can't write my father's name as Tiwari in the form as it might get rejected. So I changed his name too."

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Pankaj Tripathi recalled his strange audition with Ram Gopal Varma

Apart from his younger days, Pankaj Tripathi also shared an interesting anecdote from the time when he was struggling in the film industry. The actor revealed that he had once auditioned for the critically-acclaimed filmmaker, Ram Gopal Varma. He shared how RGV told him to sit on a bench, which was meant for four people. He further shared that the director observed him closely for 10-15 minutes, and after that, he told him to go. Pankaj revealed that he was rejected and called it a win-win situation for both of them. Sharing how that was the era when aspiring actors used to make cuts on their faces in order to get a role in Ram Gopal Varma's film, he said:

"Ramu asked me to sit on a bench meant for four people. I sat on the bench in a corner. He told me, 'No No, come more close to this side'. On a bench meant for four, I was sitting alone and he stared at me intently for 10 to 15 minutes. I felt very sheepish when he continued to stare at me for a long. Then he told me, 'Jao, Go'. He didn't call me later. It's all a game of time. If he had cast me then, then it would have been his loss and my loss too."

For the unversed, Pankaj Tripathi's upcoming film, Main ATAL Hoon, will be released in theatres on January 19, 2024.

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