Pankaj Tripathi on his role in Luka Chuppi: I won’t be dancing, only talking like a dancer

Pankaj Tripathi is gearing up for back-to-back releases in 2019. And he is kicking off the year with Luka Chuppi. The rom-com has the talented actor playing a real estate agent who runs dance classes.

The actor, who featured in last year’s films like Stree, Kaala and web show Mirzapur, got candid about his upcoming film Luka Chuppi, that has Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon in the lead. The Laxman Utekar directorial is set in the town of Mathura and deals with a live-in couple that faces challenges when their entire family comes to stay with them.

Pankaj Tripathi is also set to play Man Singh in Ranveer Singh starrer ’83. In this exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, he spoke about his role in Luka Chuppi and shared what it would be like if his own kids chose to have a live-in.

Here are excerpts from the conversation:

Q. We saw very little of you in the trailer. What’s your role in Luka Chuppi?

I have a small role in the film. The makers wanted me in a different role which had more screen time. But when I read the script, this small role attracted me more. So, it is a small role but an enjoyable one.

It is a colourful character from a small town. He is a man from Mathura who calls himself a choreographer. But he does not know dance. He is a real estate agent who runs dance classes which are never visible. I won’t be dancing in particular, rather only talking like a dancer.

Q. How different is Luka Chuppi from romantic comedies of the past?

I won’t say it is a very different film. It is based in a small town. Despite having a romantic plot, there is an undercurrent of something which the film shyly says. That attracted me in the script. It talks about live-ins in small tows. I am not saying it is a good thing or a bad thing. But at least we can talk about it.

Q. Did you ever come across any live-in couple in your real life?

I have never seen this. In Patna, we couldn’t even talk to girls. The school in which I studied, there the teacher used to enter first in the classroom and then the girls entered. And after the class was over, the girls left before the teacher. So there was no way we could even speak to the girls. So, the kind of atmosphere I have grown up in, I never saw anyone in live-in.

Q. If your own kids wished to have a live-in with their partner, and the situation demanded you to go and stay with them, how would you handle it?

I don’t know how I will handle. I am from that generation which has seen the advent of mobile phones. So I feel we are both open-minded and also have conservative thinking. I am progressive, but my thinking will definitely grow. At the same time, I will feel bad as well. I would tell them first you decide among yourselves. To get to know each other, you don’t necessarily need to live-in together for two months. Meeting for 3-4 hours (every day) should be fine.

You asked me such a tricky question. I don’t know right now. As and when the situation will come, I will see. When my daughter grows up, I don’t know what my thinking will be at that time. Times keep changing. The place from where I come from, I feel I am a misfit there in terms of thinking. When I speak with people and the school kids there, I realise they still haven’t progressed and we have grown so much. Some things we like about our hometown, some you want to change.