Pankaj Tripathi takes to writing in the isolation of the coronavirus lockdown

Pankaj Tripathi might have had his first big release of the year, 83, scuppered by the coronavirus pandemic, but the actor has taken up a new hobby to keep himself sharp in this period of enforced homestay.

With the entire country locked down to prevent further spread of the pandemic, Tripathi revealed that he has taken up writing as a hobby. "Actors are often closely associated with writing, even in the projects that they are just acting in," said the actor who shot to popularity with Anurag Kashyap's magnum opus Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012). "As artists, we communicate to the audience what the writer is trying to say through our body language, our ability to emote on screen. Writing is a creative extension of me and I am not doing it with the motive of writing a screenplay. I started by penning down my thoughts for the sake of keeping my skills sharp."

A self-proclaimed storyteller, Tripathi has often revealed that he enjoys listening to and telling stories of his own experiences to people on set. The actor added that the new hobby is the result of friends often insisting that he put his thoughts and stories down on paper.

"Writing and acting are interconnected for me," he said. "I am writing to fulfil my own creative quest. Let me see how the finished product turns out. If it is to my satisfaction, I will figure what to do with it.”

Tripathi will next be seen as PR Man Singh, manager of the first Indian cricket team to win the World Cup, in Kabir Khan's 83. The film was set to be released on 10 April, but has now been postponed.

Tripathi is also part of Kagaz, Satish Kaushik's return to direction, Anurag Basu's Ludo (2020) and the Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020), which is also slated for release later this year.