Mumbai: Pankaj Tripathi, along with Mridula Tripathi, in an exclusive interview with New9, commented on their daughter Aashi’s recent theatre debut. The couple’s production banner, Roopkatha Rangmanch, produced the play Lailaaj. It was written and directed by Faiz Mohammed Khan. The play was first staged in Rangshila Theatre in Mumbai on 21st November.
Commenting on the play and his daughter’s performance, Pankaj stated, “I liked it. She’s learning. It’s a hard work of 2-3 months. She did well, but there’s scope to do more. I noted a few things which I’ll tell her tonight. I was watching it as an actor, not as a father. My wife was watching it as a mother and was happy. But I was practical.”
Meanwhile, Mridula stated, “I was watching it as a mother. I would be lying if I said I was watching it as a producer. I was watching the play as a mother as well as a critic. I was trying to see what Aashi does wrong, but she did well so I liked it.”
When asked about his return to the theatre, Pankaj stated, “The reason behind coming back to theatre is that I began my journey as an actor in theatre. I’m busy doing cinema, so I’m not able to do theatre, but there was a temptation to do something in theatre. I thought that let’s create a theatre group first. Maybe I’ll join from the third play onwards. All of us are irritated with too much screen now, so, let there be something live. That’s why this play.”
He also credited his wife. “My wife was involved in this a lot. I read the script and attended the rehearsals only once. This was the first show of the play. I’ve told them to improve it here and there. That’s the beauty of theatre. You can edit/improve your play. You cannot do that with a film once the final cut is done. A play can have a different experience in every show. The second show will have different actors. Every actor in this play is a singer as well,” said Pankaj.
He also stated, “I have decided that, I might do a film or series less and do one play instead.”
Mridula revealed that it was his daughter’s decision to become an actor. “No. She decided that herself. Also, theatre is not only for acting, it’s also for self-discipline. So, it’s a process she’s following for her growth and discipline. If she wants to further explore acting in cinema, it’d be her choice,” said the actor’s wife. She also explained her decision to produce a play, instead of films.
“I heard in an interview that kids should be kept away from the screen as much as possible. We say all this but what do we do to put that into practice? At least one person should that the initiative. I met Faiz. He had a script. He has scouted so many gem of actors. We had a great experience during the rehearsals. It was an amazing journey,” said Mridula.