MEN OF THE YEAR 2019

Commercial isn’t “commercial” anymore. While the wave of the alternate merging with the mainstream had been building for the last two years, 2019 truly became the turning point for quality cinema becoming the norm. So, we decided to celebrate the men and women who would otherwise have been “parallel” but are the biggest players in Indian cinema right now. They are talented, intelligent risk-takers who understand the importance of offering socially-relevant and content-driven cinema, while also making sure that the execution is engaging and entertaining, to ensure maximum impact. From writers, filmmakers to leading stars, these men and women are changing the rules of Indian cinema.

THE WIZARD OF WEB PANKAJ TRIPATHI

Along with being one of the most popular faces in intelligent mainstream cinema, the very sought-after actor has become a towering presence in online streaming entertainment

Pankaj Tripathi decided to become a professional actor when he was spending a week in jail, during his college days. He is a soft-spoken and very polite man, quite in contrast to the hardened men he often tends to play on celluloid. So, why did he want to become an actor? “When I used to act in various plays in my village, people used to really enjoy it. They would compliment me a lot. And that was very encouraging. Later, when I was in Patna, a friend took me to watch a play, and that really changed my life. As a member of the audience, I was blown away. For the next two years, I would regularly watch all kinds of performances, from theatre to classical music events and so on. So, maybe all those performances and experiences collected in my bank account and left an impression on me. So, I thought, maybe I should do it too. It’s a lot of fun.”