Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 8, 2020)

Getting to spend some rare family time, away from busy shooting schedules, Pankaj Tripathi is focusing on the positives in this time of Coronavirus crisis. The actor is spending time cooking and telling stories to daughter Aashi, something that he’s been longing to do.

Apart from “cooking her favourite dishes such as nutrela chawal, aloo chokha and chana dal”, Tripathi is also helping with her lessons. But most importantly, the father-daughter duo is “bonding over storytelling”. “Mujhe kahani sunaana achha lagta hai, aur logon ko sunna bhi. We all have grown up listening to stories. Interestingly, all these stories would teach us something,” says Tripathi, adding that he’s also penning down tales for films.

While he’s doing his bit to help others during this Covid-19 crisis, he prefers to do it silently. “Corona ne hum logon mein karuna (compassion) jagayi hai, jo bahut achhi baat hai… Along with medical and paramedical workers, police, municipal workers, we should also show respect towards our farmers. It’s because of them that we’re getting food to eat. I also think more efforts should be made in spreading awareness to those who don’t have access to phones or TV,” he says.