Bollywood made me a ‘gunda’: Pankaj Tripathi

Mumbai, April 11 (IANS) Actor Pankaj Tripathi says Bollywood had made him a "gunda" with roles in numerous crime-centric films such as "Gangs Of Wasseypur" and that he got the opportunity to break out of it with his film "Nil Battey Sannata".

At a press meet for the film, directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Pankaj, who plays a school principal who also teaches mathematics to class 10 students in the film, said: "If you're a good teacher, then your students would not become 'gundas'. And Bollywood had made me a 'gunda'.

"And even I was waiting for an opportunity where I could keep aside my 'gunda' or gangster image, and I got that opportunity from Ashwiny with this role of a teacher, who teaches maths. I had a bit of apprehension as well."

Pankaj is most popular for his role in both parts of Anurag Kashyap's film "Gangs of Wasseypur" and apart from that, he has also acted in numerous dark films or films with crime as an integral part such as "Omkara", "Raavan", "Agneepath", "Gunday" and "Singham Returns".

But about his role in this film, he said: "He is a simple and clean-hearted man, it's completely different to what people have seen me till now, it's interesting and people will love it.

"It's with a lot of difficulty that the audience establishes trust on an actor and it requires a lot of time as well, and people who have had that trust on me that I do a good job, won't be disappointed with this and their trust will only rise."

About his experience on the film, he said: "I got a good feel when I read it the first time. The whole duration of the shoot where I was shooting with 25 kids, I got close to them, there were some fun moments and memories, and I used to remember them even a few days after the shooting."

One of the best moments of the film's trailer is his surprise at lead actor Swara Bhaskar's wanting to enroll in his school as a student. He later teaches Swara and her 15-year-old daughter in the same class.