Pankaj Avadhesh Shukla who was recently seen in Mai Hero Boll Raha Hu, NRI Hadsaa, which was designed for Colors UK, and is now streaming on Voot has a penchant for picking up roles that have variety in them.
Pankaj will also be seen in an upcoming web series titled Side Mirror which will stream on MX Player.
Pankaj is also shooting for a film opposite Preeti Jhangiani titled Wajood, directed by Birendra Baswan. Says Pankaj, “It has been quite an experience. She is very experienced. It is a very unusual love tale wherein there is an age difference between her and me.”
Pankaj has also utilized his creative acumen during this lockdown and has made his own short film. Titled Moment, the short film has been directed by him. He will also be part of the cast. It will feature on Humara Movies. “This is my debut in direction. I had nothing to do during the lockdown. So I used the time to try something different.”
The actor takes up challenges. “In Main Hero Boll Raha Hu, I play a Bengali and I am not a Bengali in real life. It was good working with Siddhartha Luther. He is a Director who gives actors a kind of liberty.”
Pankaj feels that while up-gradation in technology has given a lot of plus points, it comes with its hazards too. “We have seen actors getting active on social media, and picking up their phones and putting up stuff on social media, as and when they want. Such things really help satisfy the mind and give them day-to-day happiness. But I feel that such apps and reels will end one day just like how TikTok saw its end. So as an actor, you being real and doing something in the real space is what matters. This is what I believe.”
Pankaj Shukla who was a Physician in Ayurveda, also has a Masters in Human Psychiatry and Human Consciousness. “When I was working as a doctor, I was not having a complete mind into it. I wanted to get into marketing. When I came to Mumbai from Bhopal, I knew the acting world and was well-prepared for the journey ahead.”
“If there is honesty in an actor, he is sure to get successful. Take, for example, Pankaj Tripathi, Rajkumar Rao who have attained success even with normal faces. It is important to look at roles with a difference, even if you are looking at only negative roles. The process of how you are doing it is what matters. This is where Irrfan Khan differed from other actors. He was a classy actor. Acting is a technical process and you need to be prepared for it in all ways,” he adds on the proficiency an actor needs to have.”
Pankaj might have got more of the negative roles so far in his career, but he is confident of pulling off a positive role too. “I am looking forward to the positive roles to come to me. I am sure of doing a good job as I have the confidence of picking up a wide range as actor.”
All the best!!