Pankaj Tripathi, the Hindi actor, will be receiving the Diversity in Cinema award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2021. Previous recipients of the award include actors Frieda Pinto, Fawad Khan, and filmmaker Onir, among others.
According to the press release from IFFM, this award is for artists who have left an indelible mark in the industry through their different roles, across all formats, portraying incredible versatility with their variegated performances.
Talking about the award, Tripathi said in a statement, “My intent is to perform to the best of my capabilities, and I am so grateful that my performances are appreciated by the audience. I am truly honoured and equally humbled to receive this award and it makes me very happy that such a prestigious film festival has recognised my work.”
The festival’s director Mitu Bhowmick Lange added, “We at IFFM are elated to present one of our highest awards to the prolific actor, Pankaj Tripathi. With his acting prowess and unsurpassed talent, he makes every character riveting. IFFM has always stood for diversity through cinema and Pankaj Tripathi is an embodiment of the same. He plays diverse roles with such finesse making him perfect for this award.”
The Diversity in Cinema award will be presented to Tripathi by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. It is notable that Kashyap directed Tripathi in Gangs of Wasseypur, which turned out to be one of the most celebrated stints of the actor.
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Tripathi has also been nominated for two Best Performance (Male) awards at IFFM 2021: in the film category for Ludo and in the web series category for Mirzapur Season 2. His short film Laali has also made it to the festival this year.
The actor was last seen on screen in the recently-released film Mimi, alongside Kriti Sanon. The film, directed by Laxman Utekar and released on Netflix, is inspired by the 2010 Marathi movie Mala Aai Vhhaychy.