By Medha Sengupta Last Updated:
Pankaj Tripathi, one of the finest actors in the Hindi film industry. The versatile actor is now regarded by many as a much-needed element in any film; his screen presence and dialogue delivery have made him the most sought-after actor in recent times. Besides his glorious professional life, his personal life is also equally endearing. He tied the knot to Mridula Tripathi on January 16, 2004, and soon the lovebirds were blessed with a daughter, Aashi, in 2006.
Pankaj Tripathi has a love marriage with his wife, Mridula, and the duo has been together for almost two decades now. However, his mother still does not accept his wife due to their cultural and status differences. Mridula recently sat for an interview on Conversations with Atul, where she shared that she married Pankaj, who is of lower status in society. In their culture, it is not accepted, which is why her mother-in-law, to date, hasn't accepted her. In Mridula's words:
advertisement
“It’s still not acceptable. We aren’t blood relatives, but in our culture, it is unacceptable for a woman to be married into a family of a lower stature, if another woman has already been married into a family of a higher stature. And because my sister-in-law had been married above her stature into my family, I couldn’t be married into their family, which was considered of a lower stature.”
Mridula shared that her sister-in-law had bigger issues as she married into a family with a higher stature. She was almost married to another man, but in the area, Mriduyal considers himself lucky as her father was very supportive of her. Mridula further added:
“My mother-in-law hasn’t accepted me to this day, for the reasons I mentioned earlier. She’s still upset about this intermingling. But what can we do about it now?”
Mridula first met Pankaj Tripathi when she was in ninth grade and he was in eleventh. They immediately took a liking to each other and would often steal glances. They met at their siblings' pre-wedding festivities so they would spend time together but make sure to hide it from their famlies as, at that time, it was taboo for a boy and girl to speak to each other or even look at each other.
Pankaj Tripathi is now an established actor, but there was a time when he had no work, and during that difficult phase, his wife was the sole breadwinner of the family. She worked as a school teacher to support their family. In an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati, Pankaj Tripathi revealed it was his wife, Mridula, because of whom he didn’t have to sleep at the railway station. In his words:
Continue reading below
“I came to Mumbai in 2004 and Gangs of Wasseypur happened in 2012. For eight years, no one knew what I was doing. I didn't realise the hardship because my wife would teach kids, our needs were limited, we lived in a small house and she would earn so I lived easily. Mere sangarsh mein, Andheri station pe sona nahi include hua unki wajah se.”
Let us know your views on Mridula's revelations.
Next Read: Amid Divorce Rumours Abhishek Bachchan Buys 10 Flats Worth Rs 24.95 Crore With Amitabh Bachchan