Pitobash Tripathy is one of the few actors from Bollywood since the past decade who has slowly but surely established himself as a reliable and steadfast performer not only in his motherland, India but also in international cinema, from his Hollywood debut in Disney’s sports drama “Million Dollar Arm” and the irreverent French indie comedy “7 Jours Pas Plus,” to Universal’s action drama “Monkey Man,” his latest release.
With a rousing reception for “Monkey Man” at the SXSW film festival in March, there are high expectations for the intense action flick, comprising an all-South Asian Indian star cast led by Dev Patel who also wrote, directed and produced the film. Jordan Peele added his Hollywood muscle to Patel’s directorial debut, and boarded “Monkey Man” as producer.
Tripathy spoke to Amsterdam News recently and shed light on his journey from Bollywood to Hollywood, his role in “Monkey Man” and the opportunities the movie could herald for South Asian actors globally.
Amsterdam News: Congratulations to you on “Monkey Man.” Could you tell us more about Alphonso, the character you play in the film, and how you got the role?
Pitobash Tripathy: Dev’s [Patel] character, Kid, wants to enter the evil elite world of corrupt police chief, Rana [Sikander Kher], and my character works in that world because of his circumstances. He does whatever he can do to navigate this world and lead a happy life. Kid and Alphonso meet at the evil elite world headquarters and [that’s how] their journey together begins in the film. Dev saw my film “Million Dollar Arm” and he loved my work. Then we bumped into each other through some common friends in L.A. and he checked out a couple of other films of mine, which I did in India. So he thought I’ll be good to play the role of Alphonso in “Monkey Man.” He never mentioned this though, while I was in LA. One day, I got a call from him. I was in Mumbai, and he said he is directing this film called “Monkey Man” and that he wants to test me for a role in the film. I was very happy to hear that and then I auditioned for the role, maybe four or five times. One day he called me and told me that he loved my audition and he wanted me to play the role.
AmNews: Jordan Peele joined hands with Dev Patel on “Monkey Man” and the film also got a 4-minute standing ovation at SXSW in March. What is the relevance of Monkey Man in this moment in time for South Asians in global entertainment?
PT: We shot the film in the height of the pandemic, from November 2020 to around April 2021. The movie faced so many roadblocks. Generally, you don’t see brown or South Asian actors playing these big action hero movies in Hollywood. So Dev has broken that barrier with this film. And all of us who are part of this film are very excited that it will open up roads for several Indian American, brown or South Asian actors to take the center stage and play any kind of central roles in action and superhero films—which is very rare till now. So I personally think “Monkey Man” is a milestone for South Asian actors on the global stage, and I think it will give us a major boost in Hollywood. And of course, when I came to know from Dev that Jordan Peele joined hands with him and was presenting the film, I was very happy. At the SXSW film premiere when I saw the excitement among the audiences and their standing ovation for several minutes, it was kind of a very emotional moment for all of us. It gives us confidence and optimism towards the film, and after the reaction at SXSW, I’m sure the audience would love to see South Asian actors do mainstream films like every other actor in Hollywood.
AmNews: You are an established character actor in Bollywood for over 15 years, and your foray into Hollywood began with “Million Dollar Arm.” How has this journey of navigating international cinema been for you so far?
PT: My journey in Bollywood and also here in America, in Hollywood, is pretty unique. I came from a state called Odisha which is located on the eastern coast of India and there are very few people in Bollywood who actually came from the state. So 16 years ago when I came to Mumbai to make a career in the industry as an actor, there were very few people from my place [Odisha] to whom I could look up to and take inspiration and learn from their journeys. So it was always trial and error for me and learning how to move ahead and break into the industry. I learnt from my own mistakes—a self-learning process.
The same thing happened to me in terms of my international career in America and Europe, and when I came to shoot “Million Dollar Arm” in America, in 2013. That was the first time I ever traveled to the U.S. Whatever I knew about the U.S. before that—whether the culture or how the industry works—was from Hollywood movies. So everything was completely new for me and the journey again was a self-learning process. After “Million Dollar Arm,” I got a lot of praise from the critics, and I made some friends here [in the U.S.] and tried to understand the industry. After “Million Dollar Arm,” I did a French film called “7 Jours Pas Plus” with well known and critically acclaimed writer and director, Hector Cabello Reyes and the famous French actor, Benoit Poelvoorde. The film was well-received in France and other parts of Europe. So it’s still a learning process and I’m enjoying every little thing I’m achieving in life.
AmNews: What are the kind of characters that attract you and have you gotten to play some of them in the span of your career?
PT: For me, a dream role is always something I’ve never played before, and the challenge I feel about how I can make a role my own after reading it. If you see my filmography from the last 16 years, I always try to do something different, which I’ve never done before.
AmNews: What are your goals for Hollywood and what is next in store for you in terms of films and releases?
PT: Acting for me is never only just a job. It’s happiness for me, it’s my passion. I’m an actor because I love to be an actor. I enjoy the process. So, I always try to live in the moment, live with the film, and try to be in that happy space. So when you ask what is the goal in Hollywood, I can say, to do more and more challenging roles. I am enjoying all the praises our movie “Monkey Man” is getting right now and hope to get more challenging and good roles in the future. There are a couple of feature films and series that are in post-production back home in Mumbai. So I’m looking forward to those releases but right now my mind is completely occupied with “Monkey Man”.