Squid Game actor Anupam Tripathi aka Ali 'was not prepared' for such a response

Anupam Tripathi the Indiaborn Koreabased actor of Netflixs global series Squid Game recently shared that he was not prepared for the series to become a global sensationTripathi plays Ali Abdul a Pakistani economic migrant to South Korea who is one of the hundreds of deepindebt people roped into a deadly contest based on Korean playground gamesWe felt that it will be received well but when it became a phenomenon and sensation it was not expected I was not prepared Tripathi told VarietyI still remember September 17 2021 4 pm my life was OK but after 5 pm it became huge humongous suddenly everyone was messaging me and it was Ali Ali Tripathi saidAlso Read What makes Netflixs Squid Game the mostwatched series globallyTripathi grew up in New Delhi India where his primary interest was music until he chanced upon a stage production of Spartacus He was hooked and played a slave in the productionFrom 2006 through 2010 Tripathi was part of the Behroop theatre group mentored by the late playwright Shahid AnwarI enjoyed every bit of it because in going in front of the audience and expressing myself it was so fascinating to become somebody and then again become myself said TripathiThe budding actor intended to apply to Indias prestigious National School of Drama the institution that has produced some of the countrys finest actors including Naseeruddin Shah Irrfan Khan Adil Hussain and Nawazuddin Siddiqui but South Korea came callingA friend informed him that there was an Arts Major Asian scholarship available to study acting at the Korea National University of the Arts Tripathi passed the required exam won a scholarship and joined as an undergraduate in 2010 The language was initially an issue but the actor mastered Korean in less than two yearsUpon graduation Tripathi appeared in several films and series for three years including hit film Ode to My Father series success Descendants of the Sun and 2021 film Space SweepersIn January 2020 after returning to South Korea from a brief trip home Tripathi was contacted by a Korean casting agency specialising in foreign characters The actor sent in a tape and then progressed to an audition with the casting directorThe language was no longer a barrier The part was that of Ali in Squid Game The next stage was a meeting with director Hwang DongHyuk Tripathi was familiar with his previous work the 2017 multiple awardwinning period action drama The FortressOnce selected the next stage was to prep playing a Pakistani character Tripathi got into this by watching BBC documentaries YouTube videos about Pakistani migrants and spending time with Pakistani friends in South Korea to learn the nuances of Urdulanguage dictionI tried to go as close as I could to the character said TripathiI kept on thinking its going to be released in 190 countries so how can I connect with the audience as a character That was my internal quest all the way the day from the day they said yes to me to the day it ended he addedTripathi talked about the shooting process and the majestic setsThe sets are majestic magical you go there you become the character Thats the kind of stage they have created It helped everybody to evolve better It was not that easy a process But everybody was together Ali came out from there and now everybodys talking about it I feel happy he continuedThe actor refuses to be drawn about a further season for the showI cant say anything on that because that depends on the director and the writer and the production team I hope because everybodys loving it Tripathi said with a laughRegarding the future Tripathi told Variety This was just the starting point for me Lets see how far I can move on in a better way as an actor or on my craftThe actor is looking at doing more work in South Korea including in different dialects of the language He is also fluent in English and HindiAlso Read Netflix mostwatched show Squid Game eligible for Primetime EmmyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliabilitsy and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the contents in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever