Pankaj Tripathi Reveals 60-Day Khichdi Diet for Portraying Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Which He Cooked Himself
Actor Pankaj Tripathi, known for his simplicity and love of home-cooked food, recently shared that he only ate khichdi while filming Ravi Jadhav’s Main Atal Hoon, in which he essays the role of late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He did this to get into the emotional headspace of his character.
In a recent interview with Film Companion, actor Pankaj Tripathi revealed that he only ate khichdi, cooked by himself, for the 60 days he was filming Main Atal Hoon. He explained that he didn’t want anyone else to cook for him or order from a restaurant because he wanted to control the ingredients and ensure that the khichdi was as simple as possible.
Pankaj Tripathi recalled that when he was younger, he could eat whatever he wanted and still act. But now, he needs to eat a sattvic diet (a vegetarian diet that emphasizes pure and balanced foods) to keep his system healthy. He said, “When I was young, I could act even after eating a samosa. But now I don’t even remember when I ate a samosa last. Now I need sattvic food to keep my system right.”
Actor Pankaj Tripathi also explained why it is important for actors to eat right, not just to stay healthy but also to get the emotions of their character well. He said, “If your stomach doesn’t stay well and you eat something unhealthy, thinking you will be able to emote, then you are mistaken. This is why I only eat khichdi on the day of a shoot.” “To get the emotion right, you need to have harmony between the mind and body,” Tripathi continued. “For that, an actor needs to eat light food.”
Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon Yeh Desh Rehna Chahiye – Atal, a biopic on former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will release in theaters in December. Salim-Sulaiman composed the music, Sameer wrote the lyrics, and Sonu Nigam sang the title track for the motion poster.
