‘Panchayat’ actor Pankaj Jha recently took a dig at Pankaj Tripathi for romanticising his struggles. In an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in, the ‘Mirzapur’ actor reacted to the statement, saying that he never tried to romanticise his struggles. He also added that he never intended to inspire people but simply live his journey. In an earlier interview, Jha shared that he doesn’t like the word ‘struggle’, with Tripathi taking Manoj Bajpayee’s chappal as a reference to actors glamorising their struggles.

Pankaj Tripathi said that he does not react to such statements. He said, “I never romanticised my journey or struggles. Yes, I did mention that my wife earned while I was looking for work. I never said that I would get married.” towel I sleep outside Andheri station with a towel tied around my waist. When we came to Mumbai, my life was good and happy. I never tried to glamorise it or get sympathy from it.”

Pankaj Tripathi once talked about the slipper incident on ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’. He revealed that when he used to work in a hotel, Manoj Bajpayee had come as his guest. The ‘Satya’ actor had left his slippers in the hotel and Tripathi being his fan took it home as a souvenir.

Pankaj Tripathi has been quite an inspiration for actors coming from small towns. However, he said that as humans we live our lives without any desire to inspire people: “We live our own journeys and fight our own battles. When you read or hear these stories, some people might get inspired. And even if they don’t get inspired, it’s not an issue. One just has to live their life the way they want to.”

He added, “I am also very influenced by Om sahab (Om Puri), Irrfan or Manoj bhaiya (Manoj Bajpayee). I have definitely taken inspiration from them. Similarly, some people can be inspired by my journey or someone else’s. We are all on our own journey and if someone can connect with any part of it, it doesn’t have to be necessarily in terms of acting and art, but in any way.”

When Tripathi was asked if such allegations from colleagues hurt him, he said, “Not at all. I am not a person who gets hurt. This hullabaloo does not make any difference to me.”

‘Mirzapur 3’ starring Pankaj Tripathi is set to stream on Prime Video from July 5.