Text by Sushmita Sundaram. Photographed by Wamika Gera
Amrut Distilleries shook up the scene in 2010 when their flagship single malt won global recognition in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible as the third-best whisky in the world. Ten years on, home-grown single malts are still fighting for a seat at the table, where Amrut has set the gold standard
One evening in November last year, whisky experts from across the world gathered over a Zoom call to celebrate the launch of Bengaluru-based Amrut Distilleries’ latest single malt, Fusion X. Despite the video glitches and crackling audio, the mood was convivial. Whisky connoisseurs from Bengaluru rubbed virtual elbows with Scottish distillers whose families had been in the business for centuries.
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