‘Tigerish’ Pankaj Tripathi jumped at the idea of ‘Sherdil’

Pankaj Tripathi is currently on a roll as the actor recently wrapped up Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘OMG’ and has now started shooting for Srijit Mukherjee’s next film ‘Sherdil’ where he plays the lead. Pankaj will be sharing screen space with some fine talents like Neeraj Kabi and Sayani Gupta.

The shoot of ‘Sherdil’ was supposed to begin in 2020 but was held up due to the pandemic. The cast and crew have now kickstarted the project after a long wait and Pankaj in particular is over the moon.

Sharing his experience of working with Srijit Mukherjee, the actor says, “Srijit is a fabulous director. He needs no introduction. His work speaks for itself. When ‘Sherdil’ was offered to me, I jumped on the idea. The story has a definite character in itself. It is a beautifully written script and I trust Srijit to bring each character to life convincingly. That’s his USP.”

The director reciprocated Pankaj’s appreciation for him as he said, “Pankaj Tripathi is one of the finest actors in the country today. Having him on set is half the battle won. He is always excited to try new things and improvise when need be. He is a director’s delight.”

The film is said to be based on a true incident that took place in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, where villagers left the elderly members of their families for tigers to prey on, in order to claim compensation from the administration. The alarming rate of tiger attacks on the senior citizens soon made the forest authorities suspicious about the actual happenings.

Pankaj will be seen essaying the role of a village head, who seeks help from the dense cover of the jungle to save his poor family. The film is being co-produced by Reliance Entertainment and T-Series.