Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; October 7, 2019)

Pankaj Tripathi is one of the most sought-after actors, both on the big screen and the digital platform, and is busy juggling between the two. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his priorities right. Every year during Navratri, he takes a day off work to spend time with wife Mridula in Kolkata to celebrate Durga Puja. It’s a tradition they started as a young couple when they’d go pandal hopping, eat local food at stalls and attend Aarti on Mahaashtami day. Even this year, the Mirzapur actor will be in the City of Joy for the festival. He is hoping to explore a few unusual places there, and mostly rest it out in the company of family and friends, before the next surge of work.

Pankaj believes that rejuvenation helps hone an artiste’s bag of tricks and tropes, and after every break, he feels enthused to work with vigour.

“It’s a tradition we have maintained for so many years. It reminds me of simpler times and every trip to Kolkata during Durga Puja makes me feel blessed. I love attending the Durga Ashtami Aarti. So, if I am not shooting abroad, I make it a point to go there. It’s been a long journey this far and these are the elements that have been instrumental in making me who I am,” says Pankaj.

After wrapping up the shoot of his next, ’83, the actor will start filming Mimi, which reunites him with his Bareilly Ki Barfi co-star Kriti Sanon. We hear, the film will go on floors next month.


Pankaj Tripathi with wife Mridula