Pankaj Tripathi true father-son unforgettable scene in Hindi movies is uncommon. Men in our culture have traditionally had a non-emotive connection with their children, owing to the underlying patriarchal ideals that have been ingrained in us from the time we are born. ‘Men don’t weep, they don’t exhibit love to anybody of the same sex, related or not,’ and so on.
However, in Pankaj Tripathi’s 2015 film Masaan, we observe a very wonderful relationship that Pankaj Tripathi Sadhya Ji seems to enjoy with his father, even though the mentioned segment does not involve the father at all. Sadhya (Tripathi) talks lovingly about his father and the dessert he has cooked for him in the 1-minute clip where we see him engage with Richa Chadha’s Devi as he continues to give her some kheer during their lunch break.
“Hamare pitaji kehte hai, jo kheer nahi khaya, wo manushya yoni mein hone ka puranta fayda nahi uthaya,” Tripathi’s supposedly simple and laid-back Sadhya remarks at one point. The statement, however concise and devoid of adjectives, conveys a great deal about the dynamic father-son relationship. Sadhya’s father makes his son’s favourite food, and then the son lovingly brags about it to a somewhat bemused stranger-colleague at work, indicating that this is no ordinary father-son relationship. A lot is stated without really saying much. Like the kheer it says, the moment is brief but lovely.
In another amusing scene from the same act, Tripathi’s Sadhya Ji replies to Richa’s question regarding where his father lives, saying, “Nahi, hum pitaji kay sath rehte hai, pitaji akele rehte hai (I live with my father. “Matlab, din mein akele rehte hain (He lives alone during the day when I go to work),” he says quickly, before explaining what he means — “Matlab, din mein akele rehte hain (He lives alone during the day when I go to work).” When questioned about his take on the joke, Pankaj Tripathi told indianexpress.com, “It’s dark humour,” explaining that it suggests parents require continuous company beyond a certain age. That’s what the term ‘akele’ means here, according to the actor, making the scene both sad and humorous.
Knowing Tripathi’s theatrical experience, one may presume that there was a lot of improvisation, but the actor claimed that everything was ‘on paper’ in scriptwriter Varun Grover’s work. So, did he receive any notes? “ Varun (Grover) said that the character reads Vinod Kumar Shukla’s works, and Sadhya Ji is similar to the character from his books.
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Furthermore, Vinod Kumar is my favourite writer, and when Varun stated he was like one of his characters, I got the brief. It got much easier for me to execute my work after that. In one scene, Diwar Mein Ek Khidki Rehti Thi, you can even see him (Sadhya) reading one of his novels. So when I discovered Sadhya belonged to that world, my work became much simpler.
Sadhya Ji, on the other hand, was hardly in the film. One would expect that an actor of Pankaj’s talent would choose to work with meatier, bigger material. Tripathi, on the other hand, was drawn to Sadhya’s persona from the start: “I wanted to perform Sadhya Ji. Initially, I was given the part of Richa’s father. It was a little role, but it captivated me right away. And happily, everything I was feeling at the time has been turned on film, which is why we’re talking about it right now.”
