Mirzapur (2018, 2020) and Criminal Justice (2019, 2020) – all demonstrate the National School of Drama graduate’s philosophy of making the “maximum impact with minimum melodrama”. The 44-year-old Tripathi exudes a quiet confidence and owns any space he steps into; in front of the camera, he often punctuates scenes with silent, emotive pauses, emphasising the dialogue’s subtext.
His well-honed ability to mine the human experience brings an understated intensity to each character. This quality is in part grounded in his humble upbringing in Belsand (a village in Bihar) and his early struggles, which have perhaps also influenced his unpretentious mindset of viewing every casting as an opportunity to fine-tune his craft, regardless of screen time. Take the example of Rudra Bhaiya in