Pankaj Tripathi: More than an actor’s, this is a writer’s show

In the third season of Criminal Justice Pankaj Tripathirsquos character Madhav Mishra describes the showrsquos intention simply ldquoTo celebrate the triumph of justicerdquo he says to the prosecutor played by Shweta Basu Prasad Four years and three successful seasons later as we sit down for a roundtable with the showrsquos actors across seasons comprising Tripathi Jackie Shroff and Aaditya Gupta thatrsquos where we begin our chat ldquoIn the third season episode five Madhav talks about how justice is the first ray of hope for change That encapsulates the overarching vision of our show The beauty and challenge of a web series is that the character stays the same each time but the experience of the last season piles onrdquo starts TripathiAlso Read Tuesday Trivia Did you know Aamir Khan had pasted stickers of QSQT on rickshawsIn 2019 Tripathi Jackie Shroff and Vikrant Massey introduced Indian audiences to Criminal Justice an official adaptation of the 2008 British television series of the same name Shroff who played dreaded gangster Mustafa in the first edition says that the initial idea was to develop it as a miniseries ldquoWe never thought the effect the show would have That said we worked very hard on fleshing the characters out I followed my instincts there wasnrsquot prep per se Mustafa is a Bombay guy just like me I have grown up in chawls so my subconscious knew Mustafa There was some wisdom and some anger Tigmanshu Dhulia director gave me a freeplaying field to explore the character Three seasons later I am proud of how the show has panned out It is our babyrdquo the senior actor beamsWhile the first instalment of the Disney Hotstar offering focused on Indian judiciary system and prison as seen from a young manrsquos viewpoint the subsequent edition brought the subject of marital rape to the fore The recently concluded third season studies the juvenile justice system Shroff says the showrsquos two wins are its relevant subjects and legacy factor Tripathi echoes his sentiment adding ldquoWe started the show at a certain standard and we have to maintain it This is a writerrsquos show more than an actorrsquos Sometimes when we donrsquot feel a scene we pause and regroup In this season we were getting stuck at a few courtroom scenes We stopped shooting for two hours and did what we call a lsquoscene surgeryrsquo The legal expert writer and creators from Applause Entertainment reworked the scenerdquoGupta who plays a minor accused of killing his child actorsister in the third season admits that he felt the pressure of matching the showrsquos standards To essay the part of a guy dealing with anger management issues and trauma of coming from a broken home Gupta had to exhibit a wide range of emotions ldquoI divided the character into two halves mdash I had to understand the psyche of an addict and the second part was to understand how someone who hates a sibling would respond I read Nic Sheffrsquos Tweak Growing Up on Methamphetamines to understand the mind of an addictrdquoIn Madhav Mishra Tripathi has delivered what is considered one of his finest performances The show united a method actor like him with Shroff who is a lot more unrehearsed How was the confluence ldquoI have not shared screen space with Jaggu Dada but I have seen him work He brings life experience to his performance The technical knowledge he possesses is unmatched He knows the lenses and changes profile without checking the monitor He can change his voice effortlesslyrdquo Tripathi says Shroff adds ldquoDev Anand saab used to tell me lsquoCamera ko mat dekho camera tumhe dekh raha hairsquo An actor should know such technical details I am lucky to have great coactors from Anil Kapoor to Om Puri and Naseeruddin ShahrdquoThe third part of the show carries forward another integral element mdash balance in the depiction of those who have committed the crimes showcasing how society plays a role in pushing them against the wall With each story Tripathi says the idea is to make a social impact ldquoAt no point can we villainise the criminal Badlav ki umeed drives the show Wersquore discussing how society police and the judiciary system view crime Our idea is to continue the healthy discourse that qualifies as justicerdquoAlso Read Itrsquos all about loving your parents